Timey Wimey Stuff
by DorianWilde
Summary: "If the danger isn't imminent…?" Jack made it into a question to which the Doctor shook his head. "Really? Huh." He looked surprised. "Why do you always assume mortal danger when I drop by for a visit?" Or the time Ianto disappeared, a paradox was created, the Doctor got tricked, Jack met Jack and River fed Myfanwy a fez. Then things get complicated.
1. Preserving timelines

**AN: **_This story is AU. It disregards Exit Wounds. It happened, brought the team closer together but didn't kill Tosh and Owen. Owen is not undead in this story either, it was a close call but as we all know Martha is a fantastic doctor._

_Except for that it's canon up until The Stolen Earth/Journeys End -except Tosh and Owen was there._

_Set sometime around season 6 Doctor Who, after The Wedding of River Song._

**Pairings**: Jack/Ianto, Amy/Rory, Eleven/River, Gwen/Rhys, Martha/Mickey, Rose/Ten (duplicate)

**Characters: **Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Pond, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Rhys Williams, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, River Song, Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor (duplicate)

**Genre: **Romance/Drama/Humour/Angst/friendship/family

**Chapter one – Preserving Timelines**

The Doctor had known it would come to this. Known it from the moment he'd spotted the pilot of the spaceship. It didn't mean he liked it. At all. Sometimes necessity is the mother of strange bedfellows, he thought to himself, correcting his bow tie. No wait, is the mother of all inventions. Wait. That doesn't make any sense what so ever.

Damn the bastard for making him think of strange bedfellows.

He looked around at the others in the TARDIS. They stared back. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yes you did," Amy confirmed, leaning against a railing.

"It's fine, sweetie, we're all used to it by now." And there she was, the reason he really didn't want to go where they needed to go, standing on the other side of the control panel with her wonderfully fluffy hair. The Doctor wished his hair would bounce like that.

"I," he cleared his throat. "River, 21h century. 2008-9ish." He quickly pulled the wobbly leaver and pushed the red button before typing in their destination. He smiled brightly at nothing in particular, because really, no matter his reservations it was always nice to visit an old friend. "We're going to visit Jack!" he cheerfully exclaimed.

-'-'-

"We're here!" The Doctor patted the console lovingly. "Good girl," he whispered.

"So, what are we doing here?" Amy asked in an insolent tone. "And where is here?"

"I told you." The Doctor flicked her nose with his finger as he skipped past her. "We're here to see Jack. Which means we're popping by to visit _Torchwood_." The Doctor glanced at River, then promptly pretended he hadn't.

"What's _Torchwood_?" Rory asked curiously.

"Top secret organization, so naturally I know everything about them. Outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on Earth, and arming the human race against the future." He drummed his fingers against his lips, pondering.

"You quoted that last part," Rory said knowingly.

"I- might have done that. Anyways! Let's go see Jack!" he enthused, then snapped his fingers, running down a corridor. "Not _too_ much of Jack," he called as he rummaged through a big pink box that he really had no idea how it had ended up in the TARDIS. "We _will_ see too much if Jack has his way. 51th century humans, not really big on personal boundaries. Aha!"

"Right. Sounds fun," Rory snarked. He snarked a lot. The Doctor liked him anyway. Donna had been snarky. His precious crazy – sometimes scary - Donna.

"Bring your umbrellas!" The Doctor advised as he put his newly recovered fez on. "And welcome to Cardiff!"

"Cardiff? Please tell me you're kidding," Amy complained.

-'-'-

He should have known Jack would be standing outside the TARDIS, pouring rain or no.

"Hello Doctor!" Jack grinned, pulling him into a wet hug. "Regenerated again, I see. No less gorgeous." He made a show of inspecting him, the Doctor admittedly feeling a bit flattered. Amy let out an amused sound. "What's with the...?" Jack gestured above his own head.

"That's a fez. It's a thing. It's my thing. Fezes are cool," the Doctor said, correcting it on his head. He forcefully shielded himself against the wrongness, as much as he was able to anyways. He moved away from the door, still holding on to it. "This is Amy Pond and Rory the roman," the Doctor rattled off as Amy and Rory stepped out, hand in hand, curiously watching Jack. "Aaand River is going to stay in the TARDIS," he quickly added, closing the door just as River was about to step out. Amy and Rory turned to gape at him, the Doctor studiously ignoring them both.

About three and a half seconds later River materialized next to him, eyebrow raised as if to say 'really, sweetie? You thought that was going to work?'

"I thought you _wanted_ to stay in the TARDIS?" the Doctor lied badly. Eyebrow. "No? Well then, let's do what we came for!" He somehow by weird coincidence wound up standing between her and Jack.

"Right," Jack said, amusement obvious. "If the danger isn't imminent...?" He made it into a question to which the Doctor shook his head. "Really? Huh." He looked surprised.

"Why do you always assume mortal danger when I drop by for a visit?" the Doctor demanded.

"Because you never just visit me," Jack said lightly. "Not that I'm complaining." He winked at Rory. "Rory was it?"

"Husband. Mine." Amy raised her finger. Jack looked from one to the other speculatively. "Nu-huh, not sharing." She grabbed Rory's arm, ignoring his weak protest "I'm not a piece of meat, you guys."

Jack snorted. "Too bad, always been very fond of Romans. Dated this centurion once-" the Doctor cleared his throat forcefully. Jack rolled his eyes at him. "Let's save that story for later then. Might as well get back to the Hub and discuss the potential end of the world." He glanced at the Doctor, as if daring him to deny the 'end of the world' bit.

"In that case I want tea," the Doctor said, trying to ignore the sting of guilt, planning to drown it in tea. "And nine_ Jammie Dodgers_. And and apple. No, I don't like apples. Don't give me apples. I want an orange. No, I really do want an apple, Jack can I have an apple? Say I can!"

"You can have tea and maybe a cupcake," Jack negotiated, smiling fondly. He waited a few steps before opening his mouth again. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" he asked, trying to get a better look at River as they walked towards the Hub, Amy and Rory in tow. The Doctor had to admit he was a bit nervous about River being uncharacteristically quiet. She hadn't even complained about his fez._ Shouldn't have tried to lock her in the TARDIS._

"River this is Jack. Jack, River. There is _no need_ to say hello Jack, a quick wave will suffice. Lot's to do, earth to save, pteryodactyl to meet." If he leaned forward when Jack did, remaining in his line of vision therefore blocking River from view, it was absolutely unintentional.

"Did you say pteryodactyl?" Rory asked sceptically.

"I love dinosaurs," the Doctor said happily, clapping his hands silently in excitement.

"Her name's Myfanwy," Jack supplied. "Here we are," he continued. The Doctor amused himself by looking at his companions questioning looks. "Close together, nice and comfy," Jack instructed. They all shuffled closer. Jack pressed a button on his vortex manipulator and the 'invisible elevator' began descending.

"Is River your first name?" Jack asked, somehow having managed to stand next to her. Not that the Doctor had actively tried to stand between them, he just wasn't sure how he'd ended up standing between Rory and Jack.

_Probably Amy's fault. _Her evil smirk as he glared at her answered that question.

"Yes. River Song," River smiled sweetly, holding out her hand, Jack grabbing it with both his.

"Captain Jack Harkness," Jack introduced himself, smiling brilliantly, blue eyes boldly meeting hers. His white teeth were very white, the Doctor concluded, slightly dazzled before snapping out of it. "That is a beautiful name. Most fitting for such a beautiful woman."

"Are your hands stuck?" the Doctor snapped, playing with his screwdriver, sonicing his fez and Rory's left foot.

"Are you jealous, sweetie?" River asked innocently, eyes sparkling.

"No," the Doctor sulked, hopping off the lift. "Where's my tea? I was promised tea!" he complained.

"There's coffee," a man in a blue shirt, standing by one of the workstations, offered. He looked very formal, wearing a black three piece suit. The Doctor recognized him mainly from the Christmas card Jack had somehow managed to send him, featuring the entire _Torchwood_ team, all of them wearing green Christmas sweaters and red christmas caps, none of them looking happy about it except Jack who was beaming enough for all of them.

"Coffee? _Coffee_?" the Doctor ranted. "I thought you were English-"

"I'm Welsh," the man snapped indignantly. Rory's cough was definitely badly disguised laughter. Jack didn't bother disguising his.

"Wait a minute," Amy suddenly said. "Isn't that-"

"-someone who looks very Welsh, yes it is!" the Doctor quickly interrupted. The man just gave him A Look, turning back to his screen.

"Not bigger on the inside, but rather impressive nonetheless," Jack said, making an all-encompassing gesture. It _was_ rather cosy, if you liked that dungeon-y feel. The water tower was a nice touch. The Doctor tried to decide what he wanted to do first: play with the rift manipulator, have the very important meeting to discuss the spaceship hovering above Cardiff or pet the dinosaur. He _really_ _liked_ dinosaurs, then again, the rift manipulator looked suspiciously like a really cool and rather mysterious thingy. He _loved_ cool and rather mysterious thingies. He bet it had loads of buttons too.

"Hello." A woman with brown hair carrying a cup looked them quizzically. "Jack?" she inquired.

"Doctor, Amy, Rory the roman and River Song," Jack said, shooting River a dazzling smile and _quite unnecessarily_ winked at her. And really, did she _have_ _to_ wink right back?

"Oh, all right." The woman shrugged, like weird stuff happened every day. As she worked for _Torchwood_, they probably did. "I'm Gwen," she offered, smiling. She had a nice smile. In fact, Gwen simply oozed niceness. It made the Doctor slightly suspicious, she was _Torchwood_ after all. From what he remembered, _Torchwood_ was more 'we're gonna steal your TARDIS and imprison you' than 'nice smiles with fascinating gaps between the front teeth'. Then again, this was _Jack's_ _Torchwood_.

He'd bet his fez the staff parties were interesting.

"Hallo Gwen." The Doctor quickly walked up to her, kissing the air on each side of her face. She blinked at him, looking momentarily confused then smiled. "Right!" the Doctor turned around, clapping his hands together. "We have a sliiight situation," he began.

"Suit-guy is in a spaceship over Cardiff," Amy supplied unhelpfully.

"Ianto Jones. And _what_?" Ianto stared at her.

"Yeeeah," the Doctor stalled for a few seconds. "You don't belong in this timeline though. Well, _that_ you doesn't, _you_ belong here just fine," the Doctor assured a gobsmacked Ianto. He turned to Jack. "So! As we don't want to create a paradox, _you_ have to go up there and tell _his_ future self to go away."

"But, why am I in a spaceship?" Ianto asked, frowning. The Doctor was generally all for asking questions. As long as it was _him_ doing the asking. Or at least as long as people wasn't asking him. He decided on a political approach.

"That," the Doctor said. "Is a very good question."

"Why does it have to be Jack?" Gwen wondered. "Why can't you do it?"

_Humans_, the Doctor thought exasperated. _How can they not se the logic? Then again, I am brilliant._ He smiled smugly.

"Doctor," Amy poked him in the ribs, making him giggle, taking a few sideway steps. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"The talking out loud thing," she smirked.

"Oooh. Oops?" He startled when River snatched the fez from his head, throwing it up in the air. With a minor screech the pteryodactyl _ate it. _"That was completely uncalled for!"

"I tolerate the bow tie, sweetie. Don't push it."

"Can we get back to the fact that my future self is in a spaceship over Cardiff?" Ianto asked, voice surprisingly calm. _Right, _Torchwood, the Doctor reminded himself. _Weird stuff. Living above a rift in time and space._

"Yes. Of course," the Doctor said, trailing off for a few seconds. "Figured it would be best to send Jack up as you already know him. I could go myself, yes, but I'm not sure if I will know you in the future. And if I will, will you like knowing me? Or will you not like me at all? Though I don't understand why you wouldn't like me, I _am_ quite likeable. At least _I_ think so. Then again, I would think so, wouldn't I? Don't answer that," he held up his hand. "What I meant to say is that you like Jack. People tend to like Jack, according to Jack it's because of the jawline. Personally, I believe it's his white teeth. People like white teeth." He ran his tongue over his own, tapping them with his index finger.

"O-kay," Ianto said, glancing at Jack, undoubtedly trying to decide if he liked the jawline or the teeth better.

"So, Jack goes," the Doctor repeated. "We can go with him, I suppose. Not you though!" he said sharply, raising a finger at Ianto, still standing by his workstation. "Paradox. You knowing you are up there is already creating a minor paradox, but if we're fast we should be fine. Probably. Most likely. Let's just hurry, yeah?"

"Let's go then!" Jack said, sounding cheerful. "Gwen? You coming?"

"Of course," she grinned. "Never been aboard a space ship before!"

"I think I'll stay here," Rory said. "If you don't mind?" he asked Ianto.

"Socializing with a somewhat sane person would be a welcome respite," the Welshman said dryly.

"Hey!" Jack called, raising his fist in mock-anger. Ianto merely rolled his eyes at him.

"Ditto," Rory said. They shared a moment of understanding. The Doctor was sure he should feel a bit insulted, then again, Rory probably meant Amy so maybe not.

"Oi!" Amy smacked her husband's arm, Rory grabbing her hand.

"Be careful," he asked her silently, kissing the hand in his.

"Aren't I always?" She gently touched his face, giving him a quick kiss.

"That's not very reassuring," Rory pointed out.

Amy winked at him. "I'll be back before you know it, Mr Pond."

"River?" the Doctor asked, seeing his wife _Oh my god I've got a wife! s_tudy the Rift manipulator curiously while keeping an eye on Myfanwy. Great minds think alike and so on.

"I'll just poke around here for a bit. Try not to miss me too much."

-'-'-

Ianto turned back to his screen for a few moments, trying to calm down. The entire situation was unsettling to say the least.

"Hey," Jack squeezed his shoulder. Ianto smiled back at him, letting out a deep breath, willing his body to relax.

"I'm fine, Jack," he tried to assure him.

"We'll fix this fast," Jack promised. "Then, I though we could take the night off and go to that Italian place you like?"

Ianto nodded. "Good plan." Jack shot him a grin, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before dashing off to join the others - who had unashamedly watched the, for Ianto, very intimate scene - on the lift. _Stop blushing, you're not a fourteen year old girl._

He cleared his throat as the lift ascended. "As you've undoubtedly seen weirder stuff than the _Torchwood _hub, would you like to get out of here and grab some lunch?" he suggested.

"Sure." Rory stretched. "I'm starving to be honest."

"River?" He felt a bit unsure about leaving her here alone, but Jack hadn't said anything, so... Besides, she reminded him a bit of his partner boyfriend significant other employer. He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"I'm good." She waved them off. "Do bring back some_ Jammie Dodgers_, would you?" She smiled to herself, watching Myfanwy as she flew back and forth over their heads.

"Of course." Ianto hesitated before making a quick detour to the kitchen. "Here," he said, handing her the emergency chocolate bar he kept hidden under the sink. At her quizzical look, he gestured towards the dinosaur. "It's her favourite."

"Us girls and our chocolate," River laughed, taking a bite before going back to focusing on the pteryodactyl.

-'-'-

"You see anyone but Ianto on the ship?" Jack asked quietly, looking around the often missed TARDIS. The Doctor had re-decorated. Jack decided he kind of liked it. He smiled at Gwen's excitement as she walked around, carefully touching the walls and railings.

"No. Scanned it for lifeforms, only him. Or else I would have brought more backup." Jack nodded tensely. He backed away while the Doctor pulled some levers, frowned at a screen and stomped the floor twice. He was worried. He wasn't ready to lose Ianto yet. They'd only just settled into this thing, this 'we're sort of a couple but let's not talk about it yeah?' thing. They'd been out with the team having dinner and drinks a few weeks ago when Jack had casually laid his arm on the backrest of Ianto's chair. The others had undoubtedly noticed but hadn't batted an eyelash. Ianto had seemed uncomfortable at first, but relaxed when the others hadn't made a fuss.

Surprisingly, Owen had casually walked into his office the day after, hands in his pockets, quietly observing: "He's been broken enough times, don't you think?" to which Jack had only nodded shortly, acknowledging the classical 'hurt him and I'll hurt you' speech. In all honesty, it was kinda heartwarming he'd gotten it from Owen.

The TARDIS materialized in the hold of the small ship. Jack peered out and seeing nothing life-threatening, he opened the door and stepped outside, closely followed by the Doctor, Amy and Gwen. He wished River had come with them, she intrigued him. There was something about her, something... different. She reminded him of something or someone.

And seeing the Doctor practically black-eyed with jealousy was _very_ entertaining.

"Off we go!" the Doctor ordered, screwdriver in hand. This one was larger than the past versions of him had had. Jack wanted to make a comment about the Doctor compensating or something similar, but he felt uncharacteristically insecure around this regeneration, unsure how much he'd changed this time.

"Not allons-y?" he teased.

"Allons-y," the Doctor repeated, drawing the word out. "Used to be very fond of that word. Also used to wear a celery..." He snorted softly. Jack exchanged an amused look with Gwen.

"Let me guess, celeries are cool?" Amy drawled. The Doctor made an non-comitting noise.

"They're rather nutritious," he said vaguely."Great when you're stranded on an ice-planet with two bunnies hooked on Bloody Mary. Here we are." He soniced the door in front of them.

-'-'-

Jack wasn't sure what he was expecting to find on the other side of the door. Ianto handing him a cup of coffee was rather unexpected.

"Thanks?" he said unsurely, glancing at the Doctor who was looking around the room. On their right was a simple black couch and a small table laden with cups, a kettle and a plate of biscuits. On the opposite side of the door was the cockpit, pretty standard though Jack instantly recognized the time manipulators.

"By all means," Ianto said, smiling tiredly. "Hello Doctor, Gwen, Amy. I got you some tea and some Jammy dodgers."

"Ooh, thank you," the Doctor enthused, instantly picking a cookie off the plate while Gwen studied Ianto carefully, most likely trying to gauge if it really was him, much like Jack himself.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked him quietly. Ianto didn't look older than the version of him still at the Hub, though Jack thought he _seemed_ older somehow.

Ianto looked very sad for a moment. "I knew I'd be here so I had to come," he said simply, glancing out the window.

"Preserving timelines?" Jack guessed. Ianto nodded. There really _was_ something different about him, but Jack couldn't put his finger on what. He reached for his hand, squeezing it, checking to see if it had the right texture and temperature. Sensing nothing wrong he wasn't sure if he felt relieved. If this was in fact a future version of Ianto it meant the current version would somehow end up here rather soon. In his peripheral vision he could see the Doctor stuffing two cookies into his mouth while sneaking a couple of more into his pocket, Amy slapping his hand, frowning disapprovingly.

"The question is, what and who are you really?" the Doctor said, mouth still full, crumbs flying everywhere as he spoke. "Sorry," he muttered, swallowing, pulling out his screwdriver.

"What do you mean," Jack asked sharply, withdrawing his hand, reaching for his gun, Gwen doing the same.

"It has to happen. I'm so, so sorry, you have no idea how sorry, Jack," Ianto said just as there was an explosion of light outside.

-'-'-

Rory liked Ianto. He was rather quiet, but after dealing with the Doctor's constant babbling the quiet was nice. Besides, it was a comfortable silence. They'd gotten coffees and sandwiches at a small café near the plass, sitting across from each other by one of the windows. It was so wonderfully perfectly ordinary.

"It's weird," Ianto suddenly said. "Even by _Torchwood_ standards, to have a future version of myself over my head in a spaceship. I'm sure there's a surprisingly reasonable and even logical explanation to this. There usually is. Still." He nibbled his tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, glancing at the sky thoughtfully.

"I've met myself briefly. Slight mishap in the TARDIS. I had two Amy's for awhile there." Rory's smile turned wistful as he remembered. Then again, having _one_ Amy was quite a handful most days. Still... Rory shook his head, turning his attention back to the present. "You know, since I met the Doctor, I've started to see unbelievable stuff as perfectly ordinary."

"Must be interesting, travelling with the Doctor."

"Yeah, I guess. I, ah, haven't been around the entire time," Rory confessed. It was kinda cool to be able to talk about the Doctor and their adventures with someone who wasn't Amy.

"Oh?" Ianto enquired.

"Well," Rory began, taking a deep breath. "I've been dead. Then I got accidentally erased from time. Or, well, I died and woke up as a Roman. Turned out I was plastic." Ianto stared at him for a few seconds then shrugged.

"Sounds like a normal day at the office," he said, keeping a straight face.

Rory sipped his coffee. "Remind me to never-"

And then everything drowned in a bright light.

-'-'-

**AN**: Don't forget to review. As this is WiP, I'd like to remind you that reviews and favorites makes the author work faster ;)


	2. from bad to worse

**AN: Chapter two! Obviously. Please lemme know what you think of the series so far?**

**Chapter two – From bad to worse**

"Hurry Doctor!" Amy shouted, hysteria in her voice. The Doctor ignored her, quickly setting the TARDIS in motion. Gwen seemed to be trying to calm her down. The Doctor mentally wished her good luck.

"Can I do anything?" Jack asked, restlessly kicking his foot against the floor.

"Stand back," the Doctor said shortly. The entire situation made him terribly uneasy. Friends in danger always made him uneasy - and why was it always the Rory-part of the Ponds? - but there was something else. Something not quite right... It finally hit him. "Oh! Stupid Doctor!" he exclaimed, hitting himself on the forehead. "How did we end up back in the TARDIS?" he asked as they materialized on _Roal Dahl Plass_.

Jack froze. "I- I don't remember." They stared at each other while Amy ran towards the doors, closely followed by Gwen.

"Right now, I don't care," Amy snapped. "What was that light?" she demanded as she threw the doors open.

"The light, yeees," the Doctor murmured, sorting through all the different possibilities, disregarding improbabilities and thoughts of kittens wearing bow ties.

"TRB?" Jack suggested. "Teleportation and Relocation Beam," he clarified.

"Possibly, yes. Yes, that would _actually_ make _sense_," the Doctor agreed as they jogged towards the lift. "It was outside, well, mostly. They only used a minor fraction of it on us, just to move us a few meters."

"Why though?" Jack wondered.

"Like I said, to move us. Obviously."

"What's going on?" River asked, ascending on the lift.

The Doctor absently scratched his wrist. "TRB, or that's what I," Jack cleared his throat "_we_ think it is-" the Doctor quickly amended, instantly interrupted by Amy.

"Where's Rory?" she asked, looking around as if expecting him to appear out of thin air. Which was completely ridiculous in the Doctor opinion, because when had Rory _ever_ appeared out of thin air? Except that one time, and that had been an accident the Doctor couldn't be held responsible for and besides he had explicitly told him _not_ to connect those two wires in the TARDIS. Well, sort of told him anyways. Hinted at it. Oh well, water under the bridge and all that.

"They went out for lunch," River told them, frowning. "What happened?"

"Gwen, call Tosh and Owen," Jack ordered. "River, did they say where they were going?"

"No," she frowned. "What happened? Don't make me ask a third time. Sweetie?" She turned towards the Doctor who had to admit she had a rather fetching glare.

"Rory said something about sandwiches," Amy remembered, waving her hands, searching for words. "He- um, he said it'd been ages since he'd had a proper one."

"Closest café this way," Jack said shortly, coat billowing as he ran.

"I _know_ you know how to multitask," River said, giving him one of her more flirtatious smiles.

"Well..." he grinned as they jogged after the others, filling her in on what had happened on the ship.

-'-'-

Rory woke up to kisses and insistent hugging. If he hadn't been aching all over this would have been very nice. As it was, it was rather painful.

"Ow," he supplied, blinking his eyes open. Amy was holding him, his upper body cradled against her. For a few seconds he wondered what she was doing at the café and why they were on the floor, then he remembered the light. _Must have knocked me out cold. Great._

"Thank god," Amy breathed, stroking his hair. He'd somehow expected the café to be in ruins, but as far as he could tell it was practically the same. He wasn't the only one lying on the floor though, most of the guests were in similar positions, at least the ones closest to where they'd been sitting.

"Hello Rory, how do you feel?" the Doctor asked seriously, coming into view as he leaned in over him.

"Like I've been run over by a space elephant," Rory groaned, blinking in surprise when the Doctor tapped him sharply on the forehead.

"Hm." He pinched Rory's left knee, making him flinch in pain. "Curiously enough, I've never been run over by one of those," the Doctor said thoughtfully, pulling out a stethoscope from a pocket. "Now that you mentioned it, it's been _ages_ since I've seen a space elephant." His eyes lit up with excitement. "Ooh, I was thinking, after this-"

"He feels like something large ran him over, focus Doctor," Amy demanded, snapping her fingers in front of the Doctor's face. Her ability to shut the Doctor up made Rory love her even more.

"Right, sorry. Too much sugar. Possibly. Or not enough sugar. It's always difficult to tell. It's my firm belief you can't get too much sugar except when you do and you make no sense what so ever." He pressed the stethoscope against Rory's forehead, then his ear. Rory exchanged a raised-eyebrows-look with Amy, who then just shrugged, squeezing his hand gently.

"Where's Ianto?" Jack asked, crouching down next to him.

Rory started looking around frantically, the thought that Ianto might be missing not even occurring to him. He really should have learned better by know. It seemed everyone he knew were abducted right and left these days. His wife. His daughter. Himself. "I- I don't know," he stuttered. "He was right here..."

"Jack," Gwen said somewhere above him. "No-one else seem to be missing. We won't know for sure until we've looked through the footage from the security cameras but... well, whoever did this seem to have been targeting Ianto." Jack nodded shortly in acknowledgement, pulling his fingers through his hair. He rose, blue eyes cold, face an unreadable mask.

"Bring him back to the Hub," he told Gwen, nodding towards Rory. "We need to ask more questions and Owen should have arrived by now," Jack finished before striding off.

"Who's Owen? Your interrogator?" Rory asked nervously, even though Jack was too far away to hear him.

"Our medic," Gwen said, smiling reassuringly at him.

"Right," Rory breathed. "Of course."

-'-'-

The Doctor, Jack and Amy all stood leaning against the railings around the medical bay. Gwen was talking to the police who'd arrived at the scene while Tosh tried to track the ship that had sent the TRB. She'd confirmed within minutes that Ianto was the only one who'd been taken.

They had tried to locate "Ianto's" ship, but unsurprisingly it had disappeared. The Doctor felt bad for Jack, could understand his frustration. He was very close to his team, the Doctor remembered. He'd even turned him down for them. _Very bad for my ego that._ He scratched his arm, watching doctor Harper work. He found the medic absolutely wonderfully snappy and short tempered.

"Do you think it was the flesh?" Amy suddenly said. "The other Ianto on the ship," she clarified, glancing at the Doctor. He felt a bit proud over her quick thinking. Well, she did spend a lot of time with a brilliant mind, it was bound to rub off eventually.

"Possibly, though I doubt it," the Doctor frowned, tapping his screwdriver against his lips. He was missing something, but _what_? He scratched his cheek.

"The flesh?" Jack interrupted.

"A matter that can take on other forms and become them. Well, not really. But rather like that. A bit like that. You can use that explanation as a guideline." He frowned. "Though I don't think that's it in this case, because I could sense a difference between Ianto and Ianto. Couldn't do that with the flesh so it must have been _him_ and he was aware what was going to happen, or else he wouldn't have had apologized. Which I suppose was rather nice of him. The apology that is." He trailed off, annoyed at himself for not finding the proverbial missing piece of the puzzle.

"He could have apologized for something else," Amy said, leaning forward for a better look at Rory. "I mean, things often go from bad to worse in the company I'm keeping." She looked pointedly at the Doctor.

"Pessimist," he said halfheartedly, having had the same thought. The first part of the thought, the rest was just plain mean.

Jack tapped his earpiece."What have you got for me, Tosh?" he asked. "Okay. Owen's almost done, you might as well come down here. Alright, great work." He turned towards them. "She managed to break down the residue of the beam into- never mind, I'll leave it up to her."

-'-'-

"So we essentially got nothing." Jack was thrumming with energy. He needed to _do_ something. Ianto had gone missing almost three hours ago and they just kept meeting dead ends. He paced back and forth, unable to be still even a moment. They'd all gathered in the boardroom, Tosh quickly summarising her findings before heading back upstairs with River. The Doctor said River was brilliant, Jack didn't like a stranger having access to the _Torchwood_ network but he trusted the Doctor's judgement. Mostly anyways.

"Um," Rory said, then looked very uncomfortable when everyone turned to look at him. Jack had made him go through everything that had happened after they'd left the Hub twice, but they still hadn't got a clue as to where Ianto had been taken and by whom.

"Yes Rory?" he said, trying to keep his voice calm. They were wasting time, yet they couldn't _do_ anything because they didn't know where to start hence the search that wasted their time._ Evil fucking circle._

"It's stupid-"

"Nothing's stupid here," Gwen assured him, giving him an encouraging smile. "Go on."

Rory took a sip from the water bottle Owen had given him, insisting he'd finish it. "They stole his sandwich," Rory muttered. "See, told you it was stupid. I glanced back when we left and I saw mine still sitting there but his had gone missing. Even the plate was gone. It's just. It's weird, isn't it? I can get them stealing a person, but their food?" He shook his head.

"The beam could have been a bit off-" Gwen began.

"No, TR-beams are very exact," the Doctor interrupted before Jack could, scratching his shoulder. "Probably why they used it as they didn't want to abduct the entire café." He looked at Rory sharply. "What kind of sandwich was it?"

Tuna sweetcorn, Jack thought.

"Um, tuna sweetcorn?" Rory made it into a question.

"Eeeew! Dis_gusting_." The Doctor stuck his tongue out, making a face. "Well. That clears that up." Everyone looked at him questioningly. "They wanted to know his eating habits," the Doctor clarified. "Which means they want him alive," he thought out loud, "why go through all that trouble otherwise?"

"Could be collectors," Jack suggested. If it _was_ collectors, Jack knew how to deal with them. He'd met his fair share while working for the agency.

"Mm, yes, but they could have taken any human. Lots and lots of humans after all. Hardy an endangered species, humans, I mean you're practically everywhere. Not yet, not for you, but for _me_-" the Doctor babbled. This Doctor rambled even more than his past regeneration, which said _a lot._ Jack didn't really mind, he'd actually missed it.

The discussion – monologue – was interrupted by Rory fainting, Amy grabbing him quickly to keep him from falling. "A little help," she said, voice a bit stained. Jack rushed to her side, lifting Rory bridal style.

"Get him up to the medical bay," Owen said shortly, walking on ahead. Jack was about to follow him when Rory spoke in a flat, almost robotic voice.

"Scanning completed. Not. Compatible."

"Rory?" Amy touched his cheek. His eyes were open and unseeing.

"Not. Compatible."

The Doctor rushed forward, sonicing him from head to toe, yanking the screwdriver back dramatically, inspecting it closely.

"Rory? Rory, are you still with us? Mentally that is," the Doctor asked, fussing with some settings on the screwdriver.

"Not. Compatible."

"I got that part, thank you. Not compatible for _what_?"

-'-'-

So far, Tosh's day had sucked. She'd hardly slept, having gotten home at seven in the morning because the Rift spat out some weird tech at midnight she'd had to analyse in case it was something dangerous. Of course it turned out to be an alien microwave slash music box. Then Gwen had called her at half eleven to tell her the Doctor had arrived and oh 'a spaceship is hovering above Cardiff' and would she mind coming into work asap? Upon arrival she'd been told Ianto had gone missing and to top it all a strange woman had been sitting by _her_ computer.

After Tosh had politely shooed her off, River had taken over Gwen's workstation, helping Tosh analyse the collected data. Tosh had to admit it was wonderful to work with another mind who actually understood and appreciated her programmes without Tosh needing to dumb it down. Tosh was running the beams components through the several intermingling programmes that predicted and analysed the Rift, hoping to find a match for something similar, or a clue as to where it had come from. She had told River to leave the rift-bit to her, and instead focus on the energy that made up the beam. Yes, she still felt a bit uncertain about the other woman, but she obviously knew what she was doing and Jack had given his okay. Besides, their first priority was to find Ianto. She'd had a knot in her belly since she'd been told about his disappearance.

An alarm went off.

"Rift alert," Tosh explained as River quickly made it over to her station, narrowing her eyes as she quickly typed in a few commandos. "That's odd."

"Is that here?" River asked, reading over her shoulder.

"Yes." Tosh touched her earpiece. "Guys, rift alert here at the Hub."

"I'll kiss Jack if that's a coincidence," Owen snarked, jogging down the stairs to the medical bay. "With tongue!"

"I'll hold you to that," Jack called, quickly making his way after him, carrying an seemingly unconscious Rory, Amy right behind them. "How long ago?"

"Thirty two seconds." Tosh got up, hurrying after him, stopping above the bay.

"Sounds about right," the Doctor said, standing beside her, ruffling his hair, making it stand up in all directions. It had felt surreal meeting him again, especially since he'd suddenly exclaimed "space pigs!" during her short briefing. Not really a thing she'd wanted to be remembered for.

"Rory fainted at the same time as the alert?" Tosh guessed.

"Yep," Gwen confirmed, walking over to stand on her other side, looking down into the bay where Owen was using a small torch to check Rory's pupils.

"Honestly, why does everyone insist on building their secret bases underground? the Doctor snapped as he began pacing behind them, scratching his neck forcefully. "Don't you have any room _above_ ground? I get that there _are_ lots of humans everywhere, but just for once-" He stopped dead. "O_f course!_ But that's a myth," he contradicted himself in a mutter. "Then again, so am I and lots of other stuff I've encountered. _We're myths _yet _we exist_. So can this also exist? It's absolutely impossible which makes it very possible bordering on obvious but why him? Why Ianto Jones?"

"Doctor, care to explain?" Jack asked, having returned from downstairs, looking ready to shake the Doctor until his teeth rattled. Tosh could relate to that, wanting to do the same thing herself and just yell 'spell it out! Because if you hadn't noticed, we're one man short!'

"You ever run into the cat nurses, Jack?" The Doctor began, looking at him intently. Tosh wanted to ask 'what cat nurses?' but didn't want to interrupt.

"Of course, several times." Jack waved him on, Tosh would bet _anything_ he'd dated one. It was a testament of how worried he was that they didn't get to hear the anecdote.

"Well, the sisterhood supposedly have a secret branch, dedicated to preserving species. It's a myth-"

"But like you said, so are you," Jack cut in, looking excited.

"Exactly! What they supposedly do is that they collect DNA from extinct or almost extinct species and use it to turn other species into that species. Well, not exactly like that, but almost. Not really. But pretty much. Well, let's just say it's like that. My point is, there are several humans which means they are perfect hosts to use if they're _compatible_. You people multiply faster than rabbits!"

"First monkeys then rabbits," Amy muttered, having sat herself down on the stairs, eyes anxiously trained on her husband. "Cheers Doc."

"Why not take a bunch of random humans, though?" Owen called from downstairs. "Why target Ianto?"

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "He's _Torchwood_? He's got a cute button nose? He likes tuna sandwiches? They liked his suit? All the above. Could be anything."

"Um, maybe it has got something to do with the rift?" Gwen suggested. "He grew up by it."

"Why not take you then?" Tosh asked, choking a yawn.

"Maybe they needed a male?" Gwen suggested.

"I know you claim Rhys is the only man for you, but the _are_ in fact several males in Cardiff," Owen sassed as he joined them. "Something must have blocked the scanners. I was _very_ thorough!" he snapped, kicking the wall in frustration.

"You mean like Beth's perception filter?" Jack suggested.

"Mm, yes, very likely," Owen agreed. "Not sure if we should use the mind probe this time though."

"Stop at the first sign of trouble," Tosh mumbled, butting her shoulder against Jack's.

"Or at the first sign of exploding," Jack mumbled back, mimicking a Welsh accent, smiling, then made a face.

"We'll find him," Gwen said, squeezing his arm. Jack nodded shortly at her, before jogging up to his office, slamming the door behind him.

"Who's Beth?" the Doctor stage whispered.

"Sleeper Agent," Tosh offered.

"How is he?" Amy asked.

"All vital signs are normal. Not sure I trust that though," Owen muttered, eyes narrowing. "He should be fine," he frowned. "He's sleeping, his body is probably exhausted from the scanning. I want a second opinion on this," he suddenly said. "Gwen, call Martha."

"Martha?" the Doctor asked, gaping, for some reason turning to Tosh who shrugged. "Martha Jones? _My_ Martha?"

"She's worked with us before," she explained while Gwen walked off to make the call.

"Really?" The Doctor looked comically surprised. "Huh. Small world. Or planet, since you're all on the same one. Same country even. Britain. Curious that. Still. Is she, um, coming? Here? Soonish? Like, now-ish?" He pulled his fingers through his hair, correcting his bow tie with both hands.

"Who's Martha?" Amy asked curiously, briefly turning towards them before turning back to keep an eye on Rory.

"Sweetie! Come look at this!"

Saved by the bell, Tosh thought in amusement as the Doctor had begun to look a bit flustered.

"What?" The Doctor dashed over to Gwen's workstation, Tosh quickly following.

"See that?" River pointed at the screen, showing the footage from the surveillance cameras inside the café in slow motion. The Doctor leaned in over her shoulder, focusing.

"Play it again," he commanded. He suddenly sniffed. "Are you wearing perfume, River?"

"Yes, sweetie, I am." She smiled warmly at him. "You like it?" The Doctor sniffed again.

"Very, hrm, 51th century." He shook his head forcefully, actually blushing a bit.

"It's two beams," Tosh suddenly said, having ignored the couple's (?) antics.

"That's what I thought. You agree then?" River asked her. Tosh was already over by her own station, typing quickly. If she could just- then run it through- _yes_!

"Got cha," she breathed. She tapped her earpiece. "Jack. Come look at this."

-'-'-

"So it's two beams?" Jack repeated. He felt exhausted, having made several calls to find out more about the 'Secret Sisterhood' to no avail.

"Yes. We think one to scan and one to abduct," Tosh said, glancing at River who nodded. "They used the rift to maximise the power," she pointed to her screen which showed a rise in rift activity at the time of the beam. "I think the scanning process took awhile, working through Rory's body, then returned to it's source." She pointed at the raise in activity coinciding with Rory fainting. "Which means their ship probably wasn't even close to here, it didn't need to be."

"Which means we can't trace them," Jack concluded softly. God, he needed coffee. He needed Ianto to bring him coffee. Shit. How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to keep them all safe. It had been way to close recently; first when Owen got shot, then Gray- _don't think about him. _

"I did manage to get a direction, but-" Tosh shrugged, regarding him with sad eyes.

"There must be something-" the Doctor muttered, scratching his scalp frenetically.

"Have you got lice or something?" Owen drawled, always the tactful one.

"_What_? No! I'd know, thank you very much. Be very rude of them not to ask permission before coming aboard, so to speak."

"You keep scratching," Amy suddenly said, as if just realizing it. Jack hadn't really thought about it, being preoccupied, but she was right.

"Am not." The Doctor stilled, looking down at his hand which had been in the process of scratching his torso. "Oh. Oh dear." He rummaged through his pockets lightning fast, theatrically raising a cookie in front of him. He quickly broke it in half, taking out a tiny folded piece of paper.

"Is that the one you nicked from the ship?" Amy asked.

"He said go ahead," he Doctor reminded her, eyes on his finding. "Now let's see here-" he frowned. Jack could taste his pulse in his mouth. _Please let it be a clue. Please._

"Future Ianto gave you a fortune _Jammie Dodger?_" Owen said incredulously.

"Of course not. It's obviously a secret cookie message," the Doctor scoffed. "Very clever if I do say so myself. I wonder if there was a message in each of the cookies? I had like _three_ of them. It's not _that_ healthy to eat paper. Unless you're a goat, I guess. Then there's all these environmental issues. How will I ever be able to look a forest in the eye again?"

"Doctor. Message," Amy ordered. Jack liked her. Fierce, demanding and an absolute joy to look at.

The Doctor squinted at the message through a monocle, humming 'Star ships, were meant to fly' rather off key under his breath.

"Well?" Amy said impatiently after a minute or so.

"Huh?" the Doctor looked at her inquiringly.

"What does it say?" Jack cut in.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Lot's of things you can do with a paradox."

"Jack! Doctor!" a familiar voice shouted. Jack and the Doctor turned as one towards Tosh's workstation, Jack's heart hammering painfully in his chest. "Doctor, can you hear me? Jack? It's me! It's Rose."


	3. Potentially the Best Day of Jack's life

**Chapter three – Potentially the best day of Jack's life**

"_Rose_!" the Doctor exclaimed, running towards the sound of her voice. "How?" Jack had never seen him look so very human. His eyes were wide, movements frantic as he searched Tosh's workstation for the origin of the voice.

"I us- the pow- fr- par-x." Rose's voice came out in fragments, the connection weakening.

"Rose?" the Doctor tapped the sides of his head a few times, rocking on his heels as he assessed the situation.

"What's going on?" Rory looked terrible, dark circles around his bloodshot eyes. Amy walked over and took his hand, fussing.

"D-c-or!" Rose's voice was even less clear. Jack wondered if using his vortex manipulator would help, then again, it might make them loose the connection completely.

"Nonono," the Doctor murmured, sonicing everything around him. "TARDIS!" he suddenly yelled, running towards the invisible lift. Everyone looked at each other for a moment before running after him, using the other exit. Jack quickly put the Hub into lockdown using his vortex manipulator, he had a feeling they might be gone for awhile.

-'-'-

The Doctor jumped around, pulling leavers, pushing buttons, typing in commands. He was vaguely aware of the others entering, but didn't really care nor mind.

"River, I'm deactivating the cross-dimensional blockade. Could you-"

"Of course," she said shortly, getting to work.

"Right," the Doctor breathed after a few moments. "Hold on tight." He pushed the big blue button.

-'-'-

"Oh it's no good!" Rose exclaimed, smacking her hand against the console. "Dammit!" The large room her father had let her use at Canary Wharf suddenly felt suffocating. The technicians worked relentlessly to build up the connection again, but it just kept getting weaker.

"Rose," the Doctor said, gently taking her hands in his, brown eyes concerned. "He'll probably try strengthening the transmission using the TARDIS. Just wait a few moments." He took his glasses off, putting them in one of the pockets of his brown suit.

"Things are bad when you're the voice of reason, Doc," Jarrohn laughed, correcting the sleeves of his black leather jacket.

Rose ignored him, focusing on the Doctor instead. "I learned patience when I traveled through several universes to find you," she said, a burst of joy rushing through her as it sometimes did, just because he was here. The Doctor smiled, though it looked a bit forced.

"Rose? Can you hear me?" Rose immediately turned towards the console controlling the broadcasting device. She made a sign to the team behind her, getting the thumbs up. Entering the final commands, she stepped onto the silvery platform, straightening her shoulders.

"I can hear you," she said, trying to still the butterflies in her stomach. He would have changed. His voice wasn't the same so he'd most likely regenerated.

"Tell him to activate the fifth command and spin the won-won wheel," her Doctor said.

"Activate the fifth command and- um spin the won-won wheel," Rose said as the Doctor and Jarrohn stepped up beside her. "Here goes nothing," she breathed, taking both their hands.

-'-'-

"Whoa!" Gwen grabbed Amy as she stumbled, giving her a quick smile. The TARDIS was fantastic, Gwen had been slightly in awe since she entered. _Two spaceships in one day. I love _Torchwood_._ The TARDIS was also not very stable, which was why all of them clung to various items, hanging on for dear life.

"Incoming!" the Doctor shouted. Three people began materializing next to the control panel, a blonde girl in the middle, and a man on each side of her. The three of them were holding hands, standing completely still, knees a bit bent for balance. As their back was towards her, Gwen couldn't see much, but the one to the left looked strangely familiar. When the three strangers were completely stabilized, the TARDIS stopped moving so abruptly Owen actually fell. The Doctor stared at the newcomers.

"Oh," he said softly, hand fluttering over his bow tie. "Hi."

"Hi Doctor," the girl said.

"Hi," he said again, then pulled her into a hug, clinging to her. She gently hushed him, stroking his hair. The Doctor mumbled something into her neck, hands rubbing her back.

"I'm here now," she said softly. "I've been worried about you." The Doctor stepped back, quickly wiping his cheek with his hand. Gwen glanced at Jack who was looking at the scene with a sad smile.

"How-" the Doctor began.

"The Paradox," the man to the right answered, speaking quickly."As it was created on top of the Rift, it was magnified, allowing us a loophole." His voice sounded very familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. "As we're inside a paradox, us being here is not risking ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time."

"Of course! The paradox growing stronger is what made me all itchy," the Doctor deduced quickly.

"But as the paradox is weakening as events unfold the way they're supposed to, this will not be undone," brown suit guy answered.

"Marvellous!" the Doctor replied, beaming.

"Introductions, sweetie?" River said in a cool voice, having walked to stand next to him. _Uh-oh, someone's in trouble._ Gwen fought the urge to grin, a glance at Owen confirmed he'd repressed no such urge.

"River?" the man who had spoken earlier said in surprise. "Of course, you were from my future, and this _is_ my future," he mumbled. "Weeell, _his_ future. It was my future then, and his- let's just leave this topic."

"Timey wimey," the Doctor said, nodding in agreement.

"Sweetie?" the girl said. Gwen wished she would just turn around so she could see her properly. She didn't want to disturb the scene in front of her, didn't dare to be honest. Too many emotions involved.

"Right." The Doctor cleared his throat, fingers fluttering nervously. It made Gwen want to laugh – the all powerful time lord, scared of two human women. "Rose, this is River Song. River, this is Rose Tyler."

"Charmed." River gave the girl a strained smile, holding out her hand. "I'm his wife," she said by way of greeting.

"Oh?" Rose said neutrally, shaking it. "Technically so am I." They seemed to have begun a staring contest, still holding hands.

"What name do you go by?" the Doctor asked the man to the right loudly, looking nervously between the two women._Weird phrase._

"Alonso."

"_What_? You could have chosen _any_ name. You could have called yourself Geronimo! Or Bob! Or Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein, which is one of my personal favourites. Quite the tongue twister, yet very respectable. But you chose _Alonso_?"

"I _know_, it's _brilliant_, isn't it?" Alonso said excitedly. "People can say allons-y Alonso, or I can say 'you can call me Al', like the song," Alonso continued, practically bouncing. The Doctor grinned.

"That _is_ pretty groovy," he agreed. "I am brilliant though," they chorused.

"Two Doctors," Jack sighed happily. "I love it when that happens."

"Jack!" Alonso turned around and Gwen's jaw dropped. It was the Doctor. Well, the Doctor before regenerating, like she remembered him from when the _Daleks_ had stolen the earth.

"Doctor!" Jack grinned, jogging up to give him a bear hug. "And my sweet Rose." He hugged her as well, kissing her cheek. "And you, you gorgeous man," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "If only Ianto was here this day would be one of the best days of my life," he laughed.

"Agreed!" the man said, turning around.

Gwen was sure her jaw hung somewhere around knee level. _Jack. _The other man was Jack.

-'-'-

"So, you guys live in a parallel universe," Amy began after all explanations had been made. They'd all gathered in the Harry Potter library, where the Doctor kept his nine thousand Harry Potter books, all translated into different languages, many of them not originating from earth. "You're the Doctor, but a human version-"

"Metacrisis-" Alonso tried to correct her.

"-accidentally created, and no, I'm not going to be more specific than that because it makes my head hurt." She turned to Rose. "And you used to travel with him, then accidentally got stuck in a parallel universe for awhile. And you're the equivalent of that universe's Jack," Amy concluded.

"Jarrohn, actually."

"What?"

"My name's Jarrohn, not Jack."

"Oh." Amy was silent for a second. "Well, that simplifies things. Did I miss something?" she turned towards the Doctor.

"Um, no. Not really." The Doctor kept glancing between Rose and River, while the 'other Doctor' kept glancing between 'Amy's' Doctor and Rose. River was ignoring all of them and 'the Jacks', as Amy had begun thinking of them, seemed very amused by it all, something calculating over both of them. Most likely they were entertaining themselves with inappropriate fantasies regarding the entire scenario.

"Right." Amy let out a breath. "Why am I surprised there are parallel universes?" she asked no-one in particular.

"Why are you here?" the Doctor asked, looking at the three guests.

"I'm told Jack had two years of memories stolen by the Time Agency?" Jarrhon said, making it sound like a question.

"You didn't?" Jack asked sharply. Jarrohn shook his head. "So you're still an agent then?"

"God no, don't be daft." Jarrohn sighed. His hair was longer than Jack's and combed a bit to the side. Amy liked Jack's better. Then again, she kinda liked there were two of him. _Shallow me. _"I'm not sure which parts they took, our timelines are a bit different-"

"Because you never met the Doctor," Jack said softly.

Jarrohn nodded again. "Yes. But if we can find when our timelines stop being similar-"

"-if they are similar at all," Jack interrupted.

"Mm, yes, the thing is, I think I know which memories you're missing," Jarrohn said. Jack froze, looking at him intently. Amy couldn't imagine missing two years of your life. She'd be shaking the other version of herself demanding to know what happened then RIGHT FUCKING NOW thank you very much.

"We've been able to overhear you since the paradox began," Rose quickly explained. "Our _Torchwood_ have built several machines to be able to reach or surveillance other universes should the opportunity arise. As you've noticed," she added. "As soon as I understood what was going on, I called Jarrohn."

"If our past is the same, I can tell you where Ianto is."

That caused a storm of "Whats?" and "Hows?" When everyone had finally quieted down, Jarrohn continued.

"Look," Jarrohn said. "To give you the short version; The reason I left the Time Agency was that I couldn't work for an organization that supported the secret branch of the sisterhood. They took humans and other species and changed them into other species. Many volunteered, fanatics that wanted to preserve endangered alien species, and I thought, good for them. If that's what they want, then fine. Then I realized, many hadn't volunteered." He smiled bitterly. "They became a whole different species, kicking, begging and screaming."

"Fuck," Jack breathed, rubbing his face harshly. Amy suppressed a shudder. "Do you remember seeing this man," he asked him, handing him his phone.

"No," Jarrhon shook his head. "I'm sorry. There were so many." He looked apologetic. Amy thought she saw a flicker of something in his eyes, probably just her imagination. _Do they _have_to be so distractingly gorgeous?_

"Why not just grab a few samples of the endangered species and move them to a point in time where they would be needed to repopulate," Tosh asked timidly. Amy wanted to tell her to speak up and straighten her shoulders. She did make a good point though.

"Species change, evolution. Small, unnoticeable things sometimes, but there nonetheless. They couldn't risk setting them back," Jarrohn explained.

"So, your plan is to follow the coordinates from your universe in the hope that they're the same ones?" River asked sceptically.

"Yes it is," Alonso said, smiling brilliantly at her. River blinked in surprise, then smiled back. "If Jack and Jarrohn's timelines are the same up until that point, it is more than likely we'll find Ianto there. Trust me," he said. "I'm a Doctor." He grinned, like he'd just said something hysterically funny, making Rose roll her eyes fondly. He had a good smile, slightly manic, but in a nice way. Amy loved her Doctor, she really did, but she wished she'd gotten to know this version of him too.

"Well, I'm _the_ Doctor," the Doctor sulked, most likely put out by the fact that it hadn't been his brilliant plan.

"So am I," Alonso reminded him. "But I'm also an _actual_ doctor. Went and got myself a degree and everything." His eyes sparkled.

"Really?" Jack grinned.

"Oh yes. Doctor Tyler." He corrected his lapels, looking very proud, exchanging a grin with Rose.

"Way to go!" Jack congratulated.

"Mm, yes. I do like helping people," Alonso said softly. "And, you know, everyone calls me Doctor. It's just weird to be called something else."

"What about your actual name?" Gwen asked curiously.

"That's only for Rose," Alonso said, smiling softly at the girl in question. Rose smiled back, taking his hand. Amy turned towards the Doctor to ask if it wasn't about time he got himself an actual degree, but her words died on her tongue when she saw his face. He looked sad, almost a bit longing as he regarded the couple. _Of course. Alonso is the Doctor. Which means the Doctor loves her too._

"For the record, I'd like to remind you," the Doctor said, pointing dramatically at Alonso with his screwdriver, "we already got a medical degree in 1888. So I'm a real doctor too."

"Things have happened in the medical field since 1888," Owen drawled. "For example, we're not really into using leeches nowadays."And that was the end of that argument. Amy suppressed a giggle, pressing her hand over her mouth.

-'-'-

Jack and Jarrohn stayed in the Harry Potter library to compare their timelines in private, which was understandable as some things should be kept personal. The rest of them returned to the control room, Jack having talked the Doctor into picking up Martha.

"Should we really leave those two alone with each other?" Owen asked after a few minutes. Complete silence greeted the question.

"Oh. I didn't think that far," the Doctor said softly while Rose and Gwen broke down in a fit of laughter.

-'-'-

After Rose had come over her initial chock of the Doctor being married, she tried to come up with a way to break the tension. She didn't resent the woman, quite the opposite. It was good to know he wasn't lonely, she had worried quite a lot about that. "River," she called to the woman sitting in one of the chairs by the console, deliberately catching everyones attention.

"Yes?" River asked, raising an eyebrow, lowering the book she'd been writing in.

"Can I ask you something?" Rose said, walking over to stand across from her, leaning against the control table. She shot her her most disarming smile.

"Sure. Go ahead." River looked at her curiously, closing the book.

"You see, I once did a perm. I thought I'd look pretty-"

"You don't have to tell everyone-" her fiance tried to cut in. Rose ignored him.

"-which I did," she continued. "The thing is, the Doctor used to sneakily, sort of, bounce my curls when he thought I wouldn't notice. Like," she demonstrated, putting her hand under one of River's curls, flicking it upwards, making it bounce softly before settling.

"Him too, huh?" River smiled, much warmer than before. Rose grinned.

"It's bouncy hair," the Doctor sulked. "It's supposed to be bounced."

"I wish I had bouncy hair," her Doctor said wistfully.

"Yeah. Ginger bouncy hair."

Everyone contemplated this for a few moments until River firmly said "Absolutely not, sweetie."

-'-'-

Ianto woke with a gasp, trying to sit up only to notice he was strapped to the table, unable to move even his head. Don't panic, he told himself, taking a deep breath, then another, repeating until the urge to scream and trash passed. He took in his surroundings as much as he could. White walls, white ceiling and he'd bet anything the floor was white as well. Very clean. Very sterile. Like a hospital.

Or a research facility.

His entire body tensed again, the instinct to _move run escape _making the restraints feel choking. He closed his eyes, continuing his deep breathing, trying to calm the useless adrenalin rush. _How long have I been here? _He had no idea. _Why is my arm hurting? _He tried by pure force of will to look down at his left arm, the effort only managing to make him dizzy. He was wearing white scrubs, it hadn't even occurred to him someone might have changed his clothes.

"This one's cute," he heard a very familiar voice say. It suddenly felt hard to breathe.

"Looks are unimportant," a female voice answered as she walked up to the bed, coming into view as she checked his pulse and shone a light in his eyes.

_Oh my god she's a cat._ Ianto blinked to get rid of the black dots.

"Yeah yeah," the first voice answered flippantly, and suddenly Ianto was uncertain if he'd heard right. But he'd been so sure. A sharp quick pain in his arm made him flinch. _Shot. Shit._ Within seconds his head was spinning. The cat's companion leaned over to look at him curiously, asking the cat something Ianto couldn't focus enough to hear.

"Jack," Ianto tried to say, eyes rolling back as his entire body began to spasm.

-'-'-

"Alright, let's go pick up Martha," Jack said, buttoning the last buttons on his shirt as he entered the control room. "We have the coordinates."


	4. Angsting Doctors and evil cats

**An: Hello sweetie. How am I doing so far? Like? Dislike? Lemme know!**

**Chapter four - In which there are angsting Doctors and evil cats**

Most days were filled with pain. Or, well, the part of the day when he was lucid, the rest was a bit hazy. Ianto woke up, not knowing how much time had passed, still not able to move. It was like constant growing pains in his entire body, especially his cats gave him injections and used instruments he had no idea what they did. Scanning him, he suspected. But for _what_?

He was scared. He missed Jack. _God_ he missed Jack. Just the stupid comfort of looking at him while he was sleeping, or lay with his head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat under the pretence of sleep.

He'd hallucinated a few times about seeing Jack, like the first time he woke up god knows how long ago. Several times after that he'd thought he'd heard his voice. His head was constantly spinning though, so it wasn't unlikely he'd made it all up in his head in an attempt to flee reality.

Today was a good day. As good as any day can be when you're locked up in a hospital slash research facility by cats. What separated this day from previous days were two things. One: His head wasn't fuzzy, probably having to do with him being awake for several hours without any new injections. Two: They were undoing the restraints.

Ianto had no illusions about running, he was nothing of not practical. His goal went no further than being able to _move_. He'd often felt nauseous with panic from just _lying there_.

Say he'd try to run, if he was even able to make his abused body work, he had no idea where he was, most likely not on earth, and no idea where to run _to_. If he failed and they caught him, he risked being restrained again, something he would try to avoid at all costs. But if he didn't run, then the cats would continue whatever they were doing to him. _Whatever shall I choose? The rock or the hard place? Decisions decisions._

He wondered if he'd lost weight, he couldn't remember being fed a single time. _Probably used some alien tech to keep me from starving. _He deliberately ignored the possibility of retcon or something like it, his brain refusing to deal with it at the moment. Anyways, being fed while lying on his back unable to move was more torture than anything else, so in a weird Stockholm syndrome kind of way he was grateful.

"Don't move," one of the cats ordered. Ianto didn't answer. In fact, he hadn't really spoken, as far as he was aware, since he'd woken up here. Granted, he hadn't been addressed either. "Let's sit him up."

-'-'-

They'd sat him up, his entire body aching, head pounding. Ianto couldn't stop moving, shaking his feet, rolling his shoulders just because he _could_. The cats watched him, taking _notes_, which was just bloody creepy.

After a few minutes they'd led him to a shower, to Ianto's great relief, a few steps away from 'his' door. It was a large room, walls and floors covered in green tiles. He undressed when ordered to, keeping his head down. He hadn't felt as bad as he thought he would, having been restrained for an unspecified amount of time and all. Alien tech, he reminded himself. Hands shaking, he turned the taps and closed his eyes. He had never enjoyed a shower more in his life. His body had felt disgusting. He hadn't smelled, but his skin had felt covered in grease. He scrubbed furiously, wanting to get rid of the feeling. He felt... wrong, somehow. Moving felt weird. He dismissed it, focusing on lathering his hair for now.

Being with Jack for so long had made him a lot less self-conscious about his body. It didn't mean he liked having one of the cats watching him, it just meant he could ignore her while insulting her repeatedly in his head. He stood under the spray until they turned the water ice cold, making him jump back sucking in a harsh breath, shivering madly.

"Nothing wrong with his sense of touch," the cat – because he absolutely refused to think of them as nurses, no matter what they dressed like – reported to her fellow cats. She threw a a towel in a ghastly green colour at him.

"Excellent," another cat answered from outside, undoubtedly taking notes of that as well.

"Clothes," the voyeur cat said, pointing to a new set of white scrubs. Ianto once again said nothing, just begun dressing.

He had a small moment of panic when he was led back into the hallway, the thought of being restrained once again making him lightheaded with dread. Even though he was led into a different room, he promptly sat down on the floor, back against the wall, glaring up at the two nurses who'd followed him. Ianto was good at passive agressin, in fact he was great at it. He'd poured small amounts of salt in Owen's coffee for _years_. They blinked owlishly at him, exchanging a look. An apprentice and her master, Ianto guessed by their age difference.

"The bed is more comfortable," the younger one said slowly, as if talking to a small child. Ianto said nothing, just looked at them.

"You will not be restrained again, that is no longer necessary," the other nurse assured him. "The most volatile part of the process is now complete." Ianto wanted to ask 'what process?' because knowledge is power, and in all honesty it bothered him something _fierce_ when he didn't know everything. He decided to keep quiet, mostly because it seemed to bother them.

The nurses exchanged another look.

"He shouldn't have lost his power of speech," the younger one said, sounding uncertain.

"He's just sulking," the other one said offhandedly, though she also sounded a bit doubtful. At that moment Jack walked into the room and Ianto could do nothing but stare, mouth open.

"Oh," he said softly, breaking his vow of silence.

-'-'-

The Doctor had been in a weird mood since their three guests had arrived. He knew the metacrisis Doctor was him. Sort of him, with bits of Donna attached. Which was weird, yet cool. Cool-ish. Not bow tie-cool, but pretty damn cool.

Still. Pretty darn weird.

The Doctor knew he'd left him with Rose, his gift to her. Someone who could love her as an equal, not someone who would watch her grow old and die while remaining young. Someone who could only offer her a life on the run and one thousand secrets.

They'd kissed and the Doctor had walked away. He hated goodbyes. And maybe that hadn't been fair, but-

In all honesty, it was one of the toughest decisions of his life. But he'd made it and he'd moved on, and now there was River. Wonderful, quirky River who constantly challenged him and _claimed_ to be a better flier. He'd never stopped loving Rose, he'd never stopped loving any of his companions but Rose was... Rose. Just like Amelia Pond had been the first face this version of him had seen, Rose had been the one to save his past regeneration from himself. Experiences like that left a mark, made it harder to let go.

He sighed, trying to shake himself out of his funky mood.

The metacrisis Doctor had been walking around the TARDIS, one hand lovingly against a wall at all times. The Doctor couldn't imagine a life without his sexy ship. Then again, he couldn't imagine being human and _ageing _either. The metacrisis Doctor walked up to stand next to him by the console, curiously studying it, pulling out his screwdriver. Both him and Rose had been fascinated with the new design of the TARDIS.

The Doctor had been fascinated with his past regenerations hair. It stuck up in all directions. How could he never have realized that? Not that his current hairstyle was anything but spiffy. Still. He pulled his fingers through his hair.

"Is she happy?" the Doctor asked suddenly, looking over, needing to know.

"Yes." The metacrisis Doctor frowned. "Most of the time," he amended. "She worries about you, like she said. She doesn't want you to get lonely."

"Sweet Rose." The Doctor smiled wistfully. "Such heart." He pulled a lever while the metacrisis Doctor pushed a button, sonicing a flickering screen. The TARDIS lurched a bit, then finally set its course towards London and Martha.

"Do you regret it? Leaving her I mean," the metacrisis Doctor asked, watching him curiously.

_I had the biggest puppy eyes._

"Would you?" the Doctor countered.

"If I literally were you? Yes. Some days."

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded. "And if not?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

He did, and it made him smile briefly. "But she's happy?" he repeated.

"She is. I am too," he smiled gently. "Very much so," he added, smile breaking into a wide grin.

-'-'-

"What do you think they're talking about?" Amy asked curiously, looking at the two Doctors.

"Who knows?" Rose said with a shrug. It was a bit odd, Amy thought, hanging out with the Doctor and the Doctor. Still, nothing she hadn't done before. "Hey, watch this," Rose suddenly grinned. "Hey Doctor!" she called. Both men turned towards her, chorusing "Yes?" They looked at each other, then at the grinning Rose. "Lighten up!" she demanded. The Doctor stuck his tongue out. The clone Doctor just grinned, rolling his eyes fondly before blowing her a kiss. It was eerie. They were very different, yet Amy could tell they were the same person. Still. Weird. She decided to go check on Rory. Owen had demanded bed rest for him, backed up by 'Alonso'. It was weird, she mused as she made her way to their bedroom. All of the previous companions of the Doctor seemed to know each other. Rose spoke fondly of Martha and seemed to know Jack well. The _Torchwood_ team had also already met the Doctor, and if not Rose then this Martha person. It made her feel uncomfortably left out.

-'-'-

Jack restlessly paced back and forth in the room he'd claimed for himself. His old room had been gone when he'd searched for it. He'd decided against asking the Doctor about it, pretty sure he wouldn't like the answer. Then again, it could be the TARDIS sulking.

Jarrohn, sitting on the bed, watched him pace, not saying anything. All though it had been his suggestion, Jack really didn't want to waste time by picking up Martha, but they had to wait for the coordinates to settle so they might as well. It was a rather tricky journey and the TARDIS had to calculate everything down to the smallest decimals, lest they'd end up in a star or something. The Doctor and Jack had discussed bringing Martha along briefly, concluding Ianto might need direct medical attention and Jack refused to bring Owen into situations where he could be wounded, seeing as it was permanent these days. Alonso, and Jack had had to laugh at that, could probably solve anything thrown at him, but he'd said he wouldn't be able to leave the TARDIS.

Speak of the devil.

"Hello." Alonso knocked carefully, peering in at them trough the open door.

"Hey doc," Jarrohn said, leaning back on his hands.

"Doctor Tyler," Jack smiled. "Do come in. Make yourself comfortable," he leered, making Alonso roll his eyes. "I must say I've missed that scrawny a-"

"Oi! Watch it earth boy!" Alonso's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth. "I should really be used to this by know," he muttered, making a face as Jack cackled. "I just thought you'd like to know we've arrived at Martha's."

They followed Alonso back to the main room, Jack's heart aching at the familiarity.

"Doctor?" they heard Martha's questioning voice through the door.

"No!" Jack called before neither of the Doctors could answer. "I've highjacked the TARDIS and I'm here to take you away from that ugly husband of yours!"

"Bloody wonderful," another voice muttered. "Oi! Don't you go getting any ideas captain cheesecake!"

"Aaaw, Mickey mouse," Jack said as he threw the door open. "I know you've missed me," he grinned, pulling him into a hug, planting a sloppy kiss on his head. The Doctor had for some reason parked the TARDIS in, what Jack assumed was, Martha's and Mickey's living room.

Mickey's half choked response went along the lines of "uugh, I'm scarred for life. Sodding bastard, lemme go."

"Hello Martha," the Doctor said, drawing the first 'a' out, hopping out of the TARDIS. "Wonderful to see you." He kissed the air on each side of her face, making her blink.

"You've regenerated," she said, looking curiously at him.

"Ah, yes," the Doctor looked at himself, as if just remembering.

"Mickey." Rose smiled brightly at him, coming up to stand in the doorway.

"_Rose_?" He stared. "Oh my god." He pulled her into a hug. Jack noticed Rose was careful not to leave the TARDIS, walking Mickey backwards instead.

"Temporal paradox, we're just visiting quickly," she explained as Mickey stepped back. Jarrohn stuck his head out, shooting a beaming smile at Mickey, blowing him a kiss before re-entering the TARDIS.

"Wonderful, there's two of 'em," Mickey sulked, making Martha laugh.

"Hello. I'm Amy. Hi." Amy waved a bit uncomfortably.

"You're that model," Mickey said. "Wha'? Bought the perfume for you, didn't I?" he defended himself when Martha gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Another ginger, Doctor?" Martha said slyly. "And you're still not, I see," she smirked.

"He's obviously compensating," Amy drawled, eyes sparkling.

"Before you ask, Doctor," Mickey said. "She's not going anywhere." He laid an arm protectively around his wife who gently elbowed him in the ribs.

"Now Mickey-" the Doctor began.

"She's preggers," he interrupted, Rose lighting up in a smile. "So like I said, she's not going off gallivanting on some adventure with you."

"Oooh. Well, yes- I see-" the Doctor stuttered. "Bummer. No wait." He paused for a few seconds, obviously thinking. "You're preggo, congratulations!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers in an 'ah-hah!'-gesture just as a shout of joy was heard from inside the TARDIS.

"I'm sorry I can't help," Martha said regrettably, trying to look past them. "How many people are stuffed into that blue box of yours?"

"Quite a few," the Doctor admitted cheerfully, weighing on his heels.

"Martha!" Alonso exclaimed, standing just inside the doors, making Martha's eyes widen. "Miss Martha Jones. Or mrs Martha Smith now?" he thought out loud. "Martha Smith, it just doesn't have the same ring to it," he frowned. "Anyway! Moving on. You're having a baby! That's just brilliant," he beamed. Jack snorted.

"Oh, right. Metacr- Two of you." Martha gave Alonso a hug, then asked "what's going on?"

"Ianto's been abducted, so we're on our way to get him back," Jack simply explained. It did sound simple put that way. They _were_ going to get him back, Jack wasn't ready to lose him yet. Not ever, to be honest.

"Oh." Martha looked alarmed. "I'm sorry Jack, are you okay-?"

"Don't," he said gently, kissing her forehead. "We'll come see you and the baby you'll name after me when this is all over," he promised. Martha smiled fondly at him while Mickey flipped him off. It was good to see them.

"Don't be a stranger," Martha demanded, turning back to the Doctor. "You have a phone, use it."

"I can babysit!" the Doctor said excitedly. "Oooh! I know this great planet-"

"No," Mickey said firmly.

"It's _literally_ made out of jam-"

"No. Nu-huh. You can visit, but you're not taking him or her with you in that box of yours." Mickey crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mickeeey," the Doctor pouted as a loud chime came from the TARDIS. "Oh, the coordinates have been set. We'll be traveling a bit to the side of time, to a place that is timeless-ish. It's a bit tricky. Took her awhile." He patted a blue wall lovingly. Jack had to restrain himself from dragging the Doctor into the TARDIS, a sense of urgency making his skin crawl.

"Guess this is good bye," Rose said. "Oh, mum sends her love," she quickly added.

"Give her mine," Mickey said. "Tell 'er I miss 'er."

"Will do."

"Good to see you again Rose," he could hear Martha say as he stepped back into the TARDIS.

"Congratulations." Jack could hear the grin in Rose's voice. "I can't believe we're both-" she interrupted herself. "I can't believe we're both in the same room," she covered badly, and with a last wave she disappeared back into the TARDIS, cheeks flushing, sweeping past Jack.

"Rose!" Alonso called after her, quickly following. "Rose!"

"Oh the drama," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together in glee after closing the door. "Off we go, then."

-'-'-

Jack was young. Maybe even Ianto's age. _Wow_.

"Agent Peetha Smythe, you've seen our subject before," the older cat said. Jack (Peetha?) studied him curiously.

"Nice to see you awake and aware," he said with a pleasant smile. "I must say I've been tempted to try waking you sleeping beauty-style," he added, smile turning into a mischievous grin. The grin was so familiar it made Ianto's chest ache even more.

"You've got your orders," the older cat told 'Peetha' shortly.

"Yes ma'am," Peetha said, saluting.


	5. Time

**Chapter five - Time**

The TARDIS started with a violent lurch, making all of them stumble. As soon as he'd gained his footing, Jack turned towards Rose and Alonso, not wanting to miss a second of the drama.

"You're pregnant?" Alonso asked incredulously. "Why didn't you _tell me_?"

"Because!" Rose made a frustrated gesture. "You'd be all like 'you can't go travelling between universes if you're preggers.'" Jack snorted, not even bothering to hide it, exchanging an amused look with Gwen.

"Of course I-" Alonso began.

"It's safe, I did my research-" Rose countered.

"I just-"

"It's not that-"

Alonso closed the gap between them, picking Rose up and swinging her around in a circle. "I'm very cross with you for not telling me, but-" A grin threatened to split his face in two as he laid a hand on her stomach.

"Scans!" the Doctor demanded, bounding past them towards the console.

"Yes!" Alonso agreed, raising a finger. "Lot's of scans!" He pulled a protesting Rose towards the console. "X-rays-"

"-ultra sounds-"

"-vitamins-"

"-a baby fez!"

"-instruction manuals-"

"-matching bow ties!"

"Books with pictures in them!"

"Oh I _love_ those!"

"Hold on now-" Rose began protesting, struggling a bit. "You can't just-" she began as Alonso planted her hand on a scanner. The two men quickly read the results.

"Congratulations! It's a baby!" the Doctor beamed.

"Brilliant!" Alonso exclaimed, hugging a laughing Rose. "I'm gonna be a dad again," he said into her hair. The Doctor pounced, making the hug into a wobbly group hug. Jack invited himself. He loved group hugs.

"I get the feeling I missed something," River said, emerging from one of the doors.

-'-'-

They had a sofa.

Ianto had tried to come up with a catchy name for it, having only come as far as The Sofa, which, in all honesty, wasn't catchy at all. It was white, because apparently a little colour in this place _would simply not do_, and was big enough for three people Ianto's size. Ianto sat in his corner while Peetha sat in his. Or more like edging nearer Ianto, sitting right next to him when their hour was up.

"Did any of that make sense?" Peetha asked, now halfway over to Ianto.

"I guess." Ianto shrugged, feigning disinterest. He didn't want to seem _too_ eager, learning about time was very interesting, though he had no idea why Peetha was teaching him about it. _Should I ask? Would he answer truthfully?_

"So, if you create a minor paradox by seeing yourself, time will repair itself, but it will bind you to _both_ points in time, making them fixed points," Peetha repeated, looking at him with a smile that made Ianto long to reach out and touch him.

"Okay," he said instead, folding his hands in his lap. _It's not Jack it's not Jack it's not Jack._

The fucking cats had taken Ianto's safe haven and now he felt adrift. He couldn't flee into the memories of Jack because another Jack sat in front of him.

_Why didn't he recognize me when I __stalked him __applied for the job?_ The answer made a lump form in his throat. _Because he'd forgotten about me. Just like his future self will forget about me when I'm gone_. Something must have shown because Peetha touched his knee gently.

"You okay?" _Don't be so sodding nice I can't-_

"Sure," Ianto sassed. "Peachy." He stared sullenly at a spot on the floor wanting to hit something, preferably something furry and nun-ish.

"You're scheduled for one of your last procedures today," Peetha said with false cheer. This Jack _Peetha_ was easier to read than Ianto's Jack, his masks not as set and well worn. "You must be excited."

Ianto gave him The Look. His Jack would have known he was in trouble, this one just looked at him confusedly._ Like an adorable over-sexed puppy._

"Oh yes," Ianto said tonelessly.

"You're not?" Peetha, and it was so much easier thinking about him that way, looked genuinely confused.

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Ianto snapped. "I- I don't even know-" The startled himself by crying. That- he hadn't even-

"Hey." Peetha laid his arm around him, rubbing his shoulder. "Want to talk about it?"

_I WANT TO TALK TO JACK! _MY _JACK._

Ianto shook his head numbly, shoulders shaking with sobs that just wouldn't stop.

-'-'-

"How long is this going to take, doc?" Jack asked. The Doctor scratched his head, watching Alonso and Rose dance, both of them laughing. It had been hours since they'd left Martha. At this point Jack was ready to chance it with his vortex manipulator. Just waiting threatened to drive him mad, he needed Ianto to be safe. He needed to feel like he was actually doing something, working towards that goal. Not just sitting here being_completely useless_.

"Awhile," he finally said. "A few days or a few more hours, it's hard to tell. Like I said, we'll be travelling _next to _time. It's tricky." The Doctor squeezed his knee briefly. This version was more touchy-feely than the previous ones. _If I'd travelled with him now..._ He shook his head, saving the thought for later. Taking a deep breath to dispel the choking feeling of worry, he looked around for another distraction. River seemed deeply engrossed in a conversation with Tosh and Amy, the three of them looking very secretively.

"So, what's the story about you and River?" Jack asked, both curious and desperate to keep his mind occupied. "She's not your typical companion-type?" he added, making it a question.

"I don't have a 'companion-type'," the Doctor spluttered, flailing his hands.

"Uh-huh. Not human girls in awe of the wonders of the universe and impressed by-"

"_I don't have a type_!" the Doctor insisted. Jack raised his eyebrows. "Don't give me that look!" the Doctor sulked. "Fine! You know what? Let's say, to_humour_ you, let's say I 'have a type', which I don't, because that's preposterous! But if I _had_ a type I'd say I have more of a I-accidentally-invited-you-along-to-see-the-univer se-hope-you-like-it-and-brought-your-running-shoes type." He looked a bit sheepish as Jack laughed. He liked this Doctor too. He was different, but not _that_ different.

"River is not like that, though?" he asked.

"God no and help me. Usually she just appears with a 'hello sweetie, I bring trouble, but I look fantastic. Oh, by the way, I'm driving your TARDIS!'" He made a frustrated gesture. "Always one step ahead, knowing stuff I don't." The Doctor made a face, frowning, making Jack crack up again. "She's a mystery."

"Sounds like your kind of girl," Jack grinned, nudging him. The Doctor shrugged, then grinned.

"You know, when I want to know _entirely_ _reasonable_ things, she just smiles this fabulously sneaky smile, saying 'spoilers'." He looked over at her, River most likely sensing it as she looked up with a smile and a wink.

Envy hit him unexpectedly, a nasty, clawing feeling. He did his best to suppress it, knowing the Doctor was as lonely as Jack himself. "Must be wonderful," he said gently, meaning it. "Every time she does, you know you'll get to see her again in your future," Jack explained._ You'll never get lonely. You know you'll see a familiar face somewhere along the line. You won't lose _everyone_._

"Yeah..." the Doctor smiled happily. "Don't tell her I said so, but yes, it is. It is quite wonderful."

-'-'-

Today the world was a bit unfocused. The world outside of Ianto's head that was. It was like he was stuck in his own head, examining his own brain. His thoughts whirled around, sometimes impossible to grasp, sometimes so intense he didn't know if he'd said them out loud. It had started after his latest procedure, where he'd been forced into a machine that was all bright lights and crippling headache on the inside. When he'd gotten out his thoughts patterns had... changed. He couldn't put his finger on it. He'd always been very logical, but now he was _aware_ of what made sense, the_gravity_ of all decisions on a whole new level. It was unsettling. He needed time. He needed quiet.

He did not need a past version of Jack babbling in his ear. He tried to focus because he _wanted_ knowledge. His love of knowing things was as strong as his love for coffee and Jack. Jack bringing him coffee with a knowing smile. Knowing stuff about Jack and coffee.

"Did you know 7 ounces of brewed coffee contains between 80-135 milligrams caffeine?" Ianto interrupted Peetha in the middle of explaining something, Ianto had no idea what. "2 ounces of espresso contains 100 milligrams though. That's a lot. I never give that to Jack. I mean, he doesn't sleep much as it is. And I kinda like having him in bed, sleeping. I watch him sleep sometimes. In an un-creepy kind of way. It's nice. His face that is." Ianto smiled fondly, closing his eyes, suddenly very tired. Leaning back against the The Sofa he willed his body to relax, sleep or unconsciousness were the only escapes at this point.

"...okay."

"I miss him." Ianto blinked his eyes open, not looking at Peetha, not able to stand that face without it being Jack's. "I love him, and I never said. We weren't like that. But I do. I wish I'd told him." He lulled his head to the side, not able to help himself, just wanting to see the familiar features.

"You can tell him whe-" Peetha began, silenced by Ianto's bitter laugh.

"Please. Like they'd ever let me go home." Saying the words out loud was almost physically painful.

"Well," Peetha began. "Your new species doesn't have a home planet, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to return to yours."

"I do have a home planet- did you say new species?" Ianto asked faintly, air suddenly gone from his lungs.

"Yes," Peetha said, frowning. Ianto was going to throw up. He wasn't aware he was hyperventilating until Peetha grabbed him, instructing him to breathe with him.

_Oh my god that's what they're doing oh god oh god please don't Jack Tosh anyone please save me please please please take me home please take me home I'm scared I miss you don't let them do this-_

Then there was the now familiar sting of a needle in his arm and the panic gave way for blessed darkness.

-'-'-

Peetha watched the nurses carry Ianto back to his room, sitting back down on the couch.

Something about the other man bothered him. The way he'd looked at him the first times he'd seen him. Like he'd recognized him. He'd looked chocked and hopeful at the same time.

_Someone from my future? _That was... unsettling. But nice, because the man was gorgeous, in an awkward, sassy sort of way. _I _better_ be tapping that. _He probably was.

Peetha sighed, laying down, a bit too tall to be entirely comfortable. Drumming his fingers against his arm, he tried to get a hold of himself. What had just occurred had made him very uncomfortable. There were supposed to be volunteers only, but it was more than obvious Ianto had had no idea what the nurses had been doing to him. Peetha didn't really have any prejudices, he'd sleep with any race but he wanted to remain who he was. Changing someone species was a huge fucking deal. He let out a slow breath.

_What do I do? _He frowned at the thought. _Look out for number one._ He couldn't afford to get sappy. But... _Wouldn't I want someone to help Gray?_That thought always got him in trouble. He rarely helped strangers, first rule as a Time Agent, don't empathize. Peetha had forced himself to grow cold, first as a soldier, later as an agent.

Except.

Except these last years had been too much. He'd begun noticing too much. At first he'd gotten stuck in a time loop with John, let himself hit rock bottom, not caring. Finally escaping, he took a good look at himself. That had been... difficult.

_What would Gray say if he saw you now?_

He sat up, restless. It had seemed easy enough, like a vacation almost. Teach him about time. Just four words. Then other four words had snuck up on him, taken the first words place.

He is so scared.

He did not know.

He is so beautiful.

He might be yours.

Peetha rubbed his eyes tiredly. What a mess. He heard footsteps down the hall and quickly sat himself up, running his fingers through his hair, probably making it look worse. Then again, he looked good in anything. Or nothing.

"Agent Smythe." The abbess folded her hands in front of her.

"Ma'am." He shot her a dazzling smile, saluting.

She rolled her eyes. "Any progress?"

"He's unfocused. Confused." Caffeine-deprived. He should try getting him some coffee.

"I see." She looked displeased. "Unfortunate... Things aren't going as well as we'd hoped."

Peetha swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling sick. "Ma'am?"

"We've never gotten this far with a subject before-" she stopped herself, changing her mind. "Same time tomorrow, agent."

"I-" Peetha cleared his throat, projecting an aura of self confidence. "He seems more at ease with me. Maybe I could be present for tomorrow's procedure? It'll make things run smoother." The abbess studied him for a few moments before nodding shortly.

"Tomorrow, 8am."

"Yes ma'am." Now all he had to do was come up with a plan. He would just offer comfort, he couldn't afford to do something reckless. He turned the nurse's words over in his head, _we've never gotten this far with a subject before-, _as he strolled down the corridor. He had research to do.


	6. Poems

**AN: Sorry it took me so long! Life got in the way and all... anyways! Chapter six, lemme know if you liked it a little or a lot. **

"Okay team!" the Doctor called, clapping his hands to get everyones attention. "As we'll be stuck here for awhile I've decided we should do some team building exercises! Amy, go fetch the Rory!"

"Fetching the Rory," Amy said, snorting. The Doctor seemed to have gotten out of his funk, going from broody to the hyperactive being they all knew and loved. She quickly made her way over to her and Rory's room, thankfully devoid of bunk beds this time around. She checked on him every half hour or so, nervous as he seemed more and more tired. She suspected the Doctor (or Doctors, all three of them) was hiding something from her.

"Hello Mr Pond," she said gently, stroking his hair.

"Mm?" Rory blinked his eyes open, leaning into her touch as he yawned. "Hello." His bed head was adorable. "Whasup?"

"Team building exercises." Amy congratulated herself on being able to say it with a straight face.

"Really?" Rory made puppy eyes. "Do I have to?"

"If I have to, you have to. Come along." She pulled her fingers through his hair, then draped a blanket securely around his shoulders as he sat up. She hated feeling so helpless, all she could do was dote on him. "Move your arse," she demanded.

Not too much or it'd freak both of them out.

-'-'-

"Gather round everyone!" the Doctor beamed, urging them into a room filled with big, fluffy TARDIS-blue pillows. It was literally the only thing in there, Tosh noted, except for a painting of a goat playing chess with a hamster. "Oh, I love having a team," the Doctor enthused, happily bouncing across the room, seemingly looking for something as he was kicking the pillows around.

"Technically _Torchwood_ is _my_ team," Jack spoke up, raising his finger. Tosh snorted, knowing he'd said it just to mess with him. Or to be top dog. Most likely both.

"Except for Owen, he's team Edward," Gwen sassed, receiving a high five from Tosh. Owen being dead still hurt, the possibilities of what _could_ have been dying with his body. She'd gotten used to it, somewhat. Many late nights with Ianto, the Welshman just _being_ there, _listening_ to her had helped her move on from the sadness and helped her see the bright side; Owen was still with them.

And they had _so_ many dead/undead-jokes they could use.

"I'm dead, not a sparkly stalker," Owen glared.

"_That's_ it! I _knew_ there was something off with you!" the Doctor exclaimed, snapping his fingers.

"Gee, thanks," Owen muttered at the same time Amy arrived with an exhausted looking Rory in tow.

"Who's dead?" Rory asked, frowning. Owen raised his hand. "Oh. Sucks to be you. Been there and all." He tried to choke a yawn. "My body's aching like I've got the flu or something," he sighed, leaning towards Amy, looking half asleep. It looked so cute Tosh wanted to ruffle his hair.

_I need a boyfriend. Or a life. Preferably both._

"Gotten worse?" Owen immediately asked, walking over to check his pulse. Tosh liked to see him work, the only time he seemed truly content.

"I dunno. It's like I'm more tired?" Rory sounded hesitant. "It's sort of weighing my body down." Alonso, just walking into the room, put his glasses on and took out his sonic screwdriver to give Rory a quick scan. Wait, that wasn't-

"That's my screwdriver," the Doctor pointed out, looking at River as if to confirm it. River just smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Pretty sure this is mine," Alonso said, putting it back in his pocket, making Rose snigger. He produced a small torch from another pocket, shining it in Rory's eyes.

The Doctor patted his own pockets. "Mine's missing."

"That's too bad, as I found this fair and square. Finder's keepers," Alonso told him, taking off his glasses. "Not sure what's wrong, obviously _somethings_ wrong. It _could_ be the flu, in which case I hope you've all taken you shots. _Weeell_, as long as it's not space flu, then having taken your shots will make you turn purple. That was a weird week..." he trailed off, smiling.

"Can we get to the part where I get my screwdriver back?" The Doctor stomped his foot, arms crossed over his chest.

Considering the Doctor was an ancient alien, highly intelligent, the stuff of legends and prophesies, he rarely made any sense and really wasn't the maturest of men. Tosh found she rather liked that.

"I've heard mud wrestling is a great way of solving arguments," Jack said, failing miserably at looking innocent. "Just throwing it out there."

"No," Amy vetoed. "Last time he spat mud for a week."

Silence.

"... do you have a photo or a video of that occasion?" Jack asked. Because of course he'd ask, Tosh thought. He'd even taken pictures, or so Owen claimed, when Owen had a major freakout and ran into the bay.

Tosh might have tried to hack Jack's phone, which was, unfortunately, bound to his wristband making hacking it impossible. She'd only done it to check if Owen had been telling the truth. Not to see him dripping wet, clothes clinging to his body. Nope.

"If you do I want a copy," River added. Amy smirked, making the Doctor splutter indignantly.

"We'll talk later," Jack stage whispered, getting a wink and a nod in return.

"Moving _on,"_ the Doctor said, glaring at everyone before smiling happily. "Team building! Everyone take a seat." He made a shooing-motion. People slowly sat down, unconsciously in groups. Tosh found herself between Gwen and Jack, Owen on Jack's right side. "Right, good. Now here you go..." He started handing out small purple notebooks with matching pens.

"I have such a bad feeling about this," Rory told no-one in particular, Amy patting him on the head.

"We're gonna write poems!" The Doctor looked expectantly at them. Tosh realized she was gaping and quickly closed her mouth.

"Brilliant!" Alonso said, then immediately began scribbling in his notebook.

Oddly, no-one seemed to share his enthusiasm.

"Come on you lot. Chop chop! Not literally, write write would be the best term I suppose. Not sure why you say chop chop. Feels a bit ominous when you think about it." He plonked himself down on a pillow, chewing on his pen.

"He's kidding, right?" Tosh whispered to Jack who shook his head.

"He really isn't." He bumped her shoulder with his own, smiling. It looked forced.

"Jack," she said softly, hesitating before taking his hand, squeezing it. Jack squeezed back.

"Distractions are good," was all he said. Letting go, both of them went back to their papers. Tosh begun writing, mind empty.

One of my best friends are in danger. I'm scared and I really can't write poems. I mean, if I wanted to write poems I'm really in the wrong line of work. Then again, Ianto could probably help me with this. Please let him be okay

She crossed it out, then feeling vindictive (Ianto would have appreciated what she was doing) she begun writing again.

-'-'-

Peetha looked at the pale man lying curled up on the bed. When Ianto had complained about being in pain he'd gotten a real bed with a soft madras, anything to make things easier for him.

_Anything to make sure the pain doesn't drive him out of his mind. Small comforts to keep him occupied, to keep his mind occupied and sane. Anything to make sure he doesn't end up like the previous subjects._

Peetha gently stroked Ianto's hair, carefully sitting down next to him on the bed. This last week had been hell. He'd been here everyday, unable to do anything, unable to stay away, offering comfort when he could. His presence had an obvious calming effect on Ianto, which the nurses were very pleased with.

"Mmm, Jack?" Ianto mumbled, opening his eyes to slits, peering up at him. "Hey," he smiled.

"Hey." Peetha continued stroking, Ianto sighing contentedly. He'd called him Jack several times, his mind more and more confused by the hour. The treatment this week had been hard on him. It had been done in steps, Ianto growing more and more agitated until yesterday where he'd just seemed... detached. Like he didn't know where he was or who he was with.

Peetha had his own suspicions as to why Ianto referred to him by another name. "You feeling better?" he asked.

"I don't know. Take me home?" Ianto asked, looking up at him with big, sad eyes.

"I can't." It shouldn't make him feel so ashamed. He'd done worse than denying someone their freedom. Hell, he didn't even know where or when Ianto was from. He hadn't been allowed to ask, which sort of bothered him. _Timelines?_

"I wan't to go home. There there's coffee and my TV-shows. They're not rubbish, sod off," Ianto snapped, frowning at him.

"Sorry," Peetha said, having no idea what shows Ianto was referring to.

"You better be recording them for me," Ianto glared, then winced, gasping as he pressed his hand against his chest.

"Hey, hey." Peetha gently eased him onto his back, leaning over to massage his chest gently. Ianto looked up at him unfocused.

"I feel wrong." He reached for him, clinging to Peethas arm. "Something about me is wrong, I'm an, an abomination. I need- Tosh'll figure this out, won't she? She'll fix me? She's a genius. She'll think of something and Owen will help. We're a team. We're like family, they'll help me." Ianto looked emptily at the ceiling.

"Of course," Peetha promised, the lie coming easy to him.

"You'll stay? Only, I can't- I can't focus-"

"Of course," Peetha repeated, interrupting him. Ianto smiled, pupils dilated enough to only show a small ring of blue.

"I don't want any more tuna sandwiches," Ianto whispered. "I only eat them for the corn 'cause apparently vegetables are good for you but I'm so very tired of them."

"What would you like instead?" The rambling worried him, especially considering how quiet Ianto had been in the beginning. "I can-"

"I love you, Jack."

Peetha swallowed, throat dry. Ianto was looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the universe. Ianto, quirky and sassy and dyi-

Peetha kissed him, because he wanted to. Because he needed to. Because Ianto needed him to.

-'-'-

"I'll go first," the Doctor said, clearing his throat.

"Fezes are red

My TARDIS is blue

Amy is ginger

I wish I was too."

"Brilliant!" Alonso cheered while the rest of them clapped politely. River seemed to be in the process of folding her paper into a miniature TARDIS. Tosh couldn't see properly, but I looked like she had even re-created the small sign on the left door.

"I don't want to brag or anything..." the Doctor said, abashed.

"My turn!" Alonso straightened his paper.

"Pears are nasty

Bananas are good

Bring one to a party

If you come to my hood."

"Speaking of bananas, you never told me what happened to my gun," Jack said.

"It turned it into a banana," Alonso claimed.

"He threw it into a supernova," Rose supplied.

"What is it with you and throwing stuff into supernovas?" Amy asked the Doctor, raising an eyebrow.

"They're nature's own trashcans." He crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Anyone else have something to share?" Gwen shrugged, Rory held up his blank sheet as Tosh held up her own.

"You wrote a binary-poem...?" Gwen asked, snorting.

"That is _beautiful_," the Doctor said, wiping his eyes. "Especially that in the middle, the 00011000111100010101001. Heartwarming."

"That's- that's real poetry," Alonso agreed, looking a bit misty-eyed as well. "Well done Tosh. Brilliant work."

"I- thank you." She smiled, bowing her head, nervously folding the paper. The other looked a bit sceptical, but hey, she was used to those looks.

"I did this drawing ..." Jack said. Tosh and Owen simultaneously leaned over to look.

"How is that-?" Tosh began, feeling her cheeks blush.

"It's only two persons right?" Owen asked.

"Yes, only that one's got four arms," Tosh pointed out, squinting at the drawing. "Unless that's a leg?" she added.

Gwen crawled over, looking at the picture up-side-down. "It kinda works from this angle too."

"Please tell me this isn't a self portrait?" Owen begged.

"It's not a self portrait," Jack said, giving Owen a shit eating grin, making him mutter "stuff of nightmares," under his breath.

"Jack!" Both Doctors complained while Rose craned her neck to try to get a look.

"What? It's art."

"Okay my turn," Owen interrupted.

"There was a man from Capri  
Who tried to piss over a tree  
The tree was too high  
And it fell in his eye  
And now the poor bugger can't see."*

Silence reigned for a few seconds until Rose burst into hysterics. "Oh my god," she wheezed. "We should do this more often."

"I feel like no-one is taking this seriously," the Doctor huffed, Alonso nodding his agreement.

"I'm making some tea," Amy said, ignoring him. "Anyone want some?"

"Oh! Could you make me a cup of hot chocolate?" Alonso asked.

"Sure," she said, leaving with a shrug.

"Did you know, chocolate is a very strong aphrodisiac?" Jack said conversationally, batting his eyelashes at Alonso. Tosh handed the drawing over to a beckoning Rose.

"Yes, in fact I did know that," Alonso informed him, raising an eyebrow, lips twitching.

"Loving this room, by the way. Is there a reason the TARDIS has a room full of pillows?" Jack asked.

"They're comfortable?" Alonso sassed.

Jack grinned, waggling his eyebrows as he stretched out on his back. "They sure are."

"Pillow fight!" Gwen yelled, throwing one at Jack's face.

-'-'-

"Agent Smythe-" The abbess had quietly entered the room while Peetha had been occupied by his own thoughts. And Ianto's face, to be honest. He looked so deceptively peaceful.

"Ma'am?" He got up, saluting her.

"You're right," she said. Before Peetha could question her she continued. "He's from your future."

It felt like a stab in the gut. "Paradox-"

"Obviously it will be solved," she interrupted sharply. "He's dying." Peetha swallowed thickly.

"I know." And damn was that horrible to admit. He cared about Ianto, had come to care about him ever since he'd begun suspecting Ianto would know him in Peetha's future. The thing was, he was not a caring person, not anymore, not since- He cut that thought off. _But I must do something right in the future to make him look at me like that._ And yeah, it was stupid but Peetha felt like, like he had to be worthy? Which was stupid. Still...

"You've done your research, we've noticed," the Abbess informed him cooly, making him snap back to the present. "There is a way..." she trailed off. "If you're willing."

He looked at the sleeping Ianto again, realizing he'd reached out when Ianto mumbled in his sleep, leaning into his touch. Trusting.

When had it come to this? "I am." He hadn't even hesitated.

"Good."

-'-'-

Suddenly he was out of air. One second he'd been lying comfortably, head in Amy's lap, in the admittedly weird pillow-room, the next he'd sat bolt upright in panic. Rory tried to breath but it was like someone had stuffed his mouth and nose with clay. He grabbed Amy's arm, pointing to his nose and throat, body convulsing as he tried to draw breath.

"Rory? Rory!" Amy raised his arms over his head. "Doct-" All three Doctors were already crowding him, discussing what to do. Finally the Doctor pushed his head back and forcefully blew air into his mouth. Rory took a gasping breath, clutching at the floor. He took another, and another, realizing tears of chock and fright were trickling down his cheeks. Amy was wiping them away, kissing his forehead, tears of her own running slowly.

"I love you, God you scared me, you stupid twat," she whispered.

"What the serious fuck?" Owen snarled, throwing a pillow across the room in frustration.

Rory hated seeing Amy like this. "Oh my God," he said, looking at her, widening his eyes. "I just kissed the Doctor." He made a blerch face, wiping his mouth. His words had the desired effect, making Amy laugh, swatting him gently on the head.

"Hey, don't make that face!" the Doctor demanded. "That wasn't a kiss, I'm a _great_ kisser. Ask River!"

"I'm not asking my daughter if my son-in-law is a good kisser." There were so many disturbing things in that sentence.

"Wait, _what_? _How_?" Gwen spluttered. Everyone who wasn't the Doctor or a Pond stared between the four of them, the very picture of did-he-just-say-what-I-though-he-did-if-he-did-the n-are-you-SURE-he-said-that?

"Spoilers," River smirked.

-'-'-

"Did it work?" the Abbess asked the nurse responsible.

"Yes. They will be compatible."

"How long until they're here?"

"Not long. A few hours."

"Good." The Abbess left, walking towards their top priority subject's room. "Get me agent Smythe," she ordered another nurse as she passed her. "Tell him it's time."


	7. In which there is a lot of running

The TARDIS landed silently without even a lurch. That might have been because River was flying her. Probably not though. The Doctor was an excellent flyer thank you very much. Besides, they hadn't actually landed yet, the TARDIS was slowly pushing through the void protecting the- Nunnery? Facility? The point was, it would have gone just as smoothly if the Doctor had been handling the controls.

Moving on.

"Alright." The Doctor let out a long breath, turning towards his gathered team (no matter what Jack claimed, his TARDIS his team.)

"Good luck, I wish we could see how it goes," Alonso said, making a face. The Doctor's heart clenched, but it wasn't as painful as he'd thought it would be. She was happy, and he hadn't even known how worried he'd been about that before he knew. They'd already said their goodbyes, knowing time was essential as soon as they'd landed. The Doctor had patted her stomach, and wow, how amazing was the tiny life in there?

He sincerely hoped the baby would inherit his tenth regeneration's spiky hair, because that hair was freaking awesome. He wished he could have seen him or her. Hold the baby, just once. Precious life. He smiled, Rose catching his eyes grinning as she pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail.

I suppose there's practically no chance of the child turning out ginger. He sighed.

"As soon as the second paradox is strong enough, you-" Alonso began, turning towards Jarrohn.

"He'll push the red button, you've told him five times." Rose pulled his hair fondly.

"How do you know there'll be another paradox?" Gwen asked. Torchwood had a certain air of... focus around them. It was absolutely fascinating. They even had a plan, like, an actually though through plan. There's a first time for everything. Gwen's words made the Doctor realize something very obvious.

"Oooh." He paused.

"What?" Amy asked, looking apprehensive. The Doctor grabbed her shoulders.

"Okay, so the next part might be a bit scary, a- a bit overwhelming. Take a deep breath." They simultaneously took a breath. "Good. Now loosen your shoulders," the Doctor instructed gently, demonstrating, Amy following his lead. "Right," he breathed. "We might find ourselves in a situation where we have to deal with three Jacks."

Amy's eyes widened, then she whipped around. "Rory, stay in the TARDIS!"

"Yes Rory," Jarrohn purred. "Do stay in the TARDIS." Amy looked a bit murderous, so the Doctor steered her over to her husband before someone got their eyes clawed out. Rory's sudden choking a few hours ago had almost scared the bejesus out of him. He'd been fine afterwards, actually looking better than he had since this whole debacle began. Still, scary.

Ill or not, insulting the Doctor's kissing skills: Not cool.

They landed with a gentle bump, almost un-noticable. But really, did River have to look so smug about it? The Doctor checked the screen showing the outside. They were in a large, empty room with white walls and a high ceiling. The corridor across from them was empty, leading in two directions. He pulled a few leavers, raising his eyebrows at the year: Five billion and thirty. No planet though, just this space station surrounded by a void protecting it. It excisted in time, but was protected by a void of no time. If you ignored what went on here, it was pretty damn cool.

"Everyone ready?" Jack asked, restlessly fingering his gun. After receiving affirmative nods and yeses from everyone, the Doctor put his hand on the door, then changed his mind, turning towards Jack.

"How did you manage to send me that Christmas card?"

"You're seriously asking me that now?" Jack asked incredulously, Amy snorting.

"He threw quite a hissy fit-" she began.

"I want to know," the Doctor interrupted. "It's been bugging me since I got it." He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jack snorted. "I sent it in the mail. Didn't you see the post stamp?" His smug grin made the Doctor want to empty a pot of beans over his head.

"Of course I did. A bloody mailman knocked on the TARDIS' door, handed it to me and wished me a spectacular Christmas." That had been odd, even by the Doctor's standards. Amy had laughed herself silly over his dumbstruck expression.

"Well there you have it," Jack shrugged, Owen's cough sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"You can't just have-" the Doctor spluttered.

"Doctor. The postal service is run by aliens. Seriously, haven't you seen the Men in Black?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor's awesome retort was interrupted by a knock on the TARDIS's door.

-'-'-

Just as the Doctor called out a warning Jack slung the door open, coming face to face with... himself.

"I really should be used to this by now," he told no-one in particular. The past Jack didn't look surprised. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and black pants, the small silver blaster very visible against the dark material.

"Took you long enough," he snapped, clearly expecting to meet himself as well. Damn, but he had a fetching glare. "Where's the Doctor?"

Jack's jaw dropped. "How do you know about the Doctor?"

"Would it hurt you to run a lap once in a while?" his younger self retorted, frowning disapprovingly at Jack's stomach.

"Hey!" Jack considered smacking him-himself but was interrupted.

"I'm the Doctor, hello Jack." The Doctor quickly held out his hand.

"Peetha," Jack's younger self corrected him. "Agent Peetha Smythe. You're the Doctor?"

"Yep." The Doctor pulled a bit at his suspenders.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor." The Doctor grinned, then glanced back inside scratching his arm, Jack following his gaze. Their three guests were still there, looking back at them. Jarrohn took Roses hand, her and Alonso waiving, then pushed the red button on the remote in in his hand. The trio disappeared like they'd never been there. Jack took a moment to commit Roses' grin to memory, wanting to hold on to it.

"We don't have much time," Peetha said, tearing their gazes away. "Doctor, you need to come with me." Torchwood stepped out of the TARDIS followed by River and the Ponds. "Just you," Peetha added, frowning at the newcomers.

"No way," Jack immediately protested. He knew himself, present and past, and there was no way he'd let the Doctor-

"I can't take anyone else because of the security. I only have clearance to take one person through." Damn. "Do you know how fucking difficult it was to fool the security system into thinking your... box didn't exist?" Peetha glared. Jack remembered the constant anger. He might not remember now but he remembered before and after. Frustration. Self-doubt. He wanted to reach out to his younger self and shake him, tell him to get the fuck out, you'll do things you'll regret for the rest of your life.

He wouldn't, couldn't, of course. Still.

"Why would you help us?" River asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. She looked gorgeous, gun pointing at the floor in a two-handed grip, leather boots up to her knees.

"This is wrong. What the sisters are doing, it's wrong. They have to be stopped and you can do that. But Ianto is dying and I'm guessing you're here for him?" At Jack's short nod he continued. "He doesn't have the time it'll take for you to override security and storm this place." He pulled out a flat, blue square from a pocket, handing it to River. "These are the blueprints," he explained. "We'll be here," he pointed, the square expanding. "Here's the main computer. If you manage to hack that you can get control over pretty much everything here. There is a security system, but if you block it-"

"No problem," Tosh cut in. "Just hurry. Save him."

"Here," Jack handed the Doctor an earpiece. "Keep us updated."

"Right-o. Off we go," the Doctor said, both of them running down the corridor.

"Can we trust you?" River asked shortly, nodding after the pair.

"Me, sure," Jack said. "Him, I don't know."

-'-'-

Jarrohn sat down heavily, face in his hands. Rose went over, rubbing soothing circles on his back as the technicians ran their scans.

"He'll live this time," she tried to reassure him.

"I wish I could have stayed long enough to know." He looked up at them. "I want to know my Ianto is alive somewhere. That one version of me didn't fail him."

"Jarrohn," Rose bent over to hug him. "You didn't fail him. You did all you could," she said quietly into his hair.

"The Doctor is there, that changes everything," Alonso told him, crouching down to sit in front of him. "He- I- We are brilliant." Jarrohn just nodded, swallowing thickly.

"Of course." He took a deep breath. "Of course."

-'-'-

"What's that?" Ianto's head was clear. He remembered the last few days like a dream, the details a bit fuzzy but he essentially knew what had happened. The conversations with Peetha- he tried not to dwell on them, obviously he'd forget them like he'd forget Ianto.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Ianto wanted to tear the cat's whiskers off. He gave her a pretty impressive glare instead. She paid him no mind, instead continuing to fasten electrodes on his forehead. She'd already done the rest of his body. Ianto would have teared them off, if it hadn't been for the minor issue of him being tied down to the table just like he had been in the beginning. Ianto focused on his anger, trying desperately to push away the terror and utter helplessness.

-'-'-

The Doctor ran. He was good at running. He'd had a lot of practice. Peetha didn't seem to tire nor hesitate, leading the Doctor further and further away from the TARDIS. He would be able to find it, he always found the TARDIS. Sooner or later anyways. Every time they came to a security control, Peetha grabbed him, letting the droids scan his eyes and told them he brought a 'subject' along.

"How's it going?" Jack asked. The Doctor tapped his earpiece feeling like James Bond.

"Lot's of running," he supplied.

"Tosh and River are working on shutting down security. Looks like it's gonna take awhile."

Peetha suddenly stopped, the Doctor stumbling to a halt next to him. "Are we close?" he asked, ignoring Jack. He hoped to Gallifrey they weren't too late. Jack was a good actor but the Doctor saw right through him.

Just this one. Just let me save this one.

"Yes." Peetha let out a long breath, frowning. "Give me a sec." He tapped his vortex manipulator, holding his arm in front of him. "High security," he added before the Doctor could ask. "They're changing him into a very rare species."

"Do you know which one?" the Doctor asked eagerly. There were some fascinating species out there, many of them would be long gone at this point. Peetha looked up just as the door behind the Doctor opened.

"Time Lord," he said softly just as the Doctor felt the sting of a stun gun in his back.

-'-'-

"Doctor? Doctor?"

"He's not answering?" River asked, quickly walking over to Jack, grabbing his earpiece, putting it on. "Sweetie? You better answer if you can hear me or I'm going to be very cross." River forcefully controlled her fear. If anything had happened to her Doctor heads would roll. Or at least cats would get shot.

Rory, who had not stayed in the TARDIS after all, gently squeezed her shoulder. River nodded shortly to him before getting back to work, trying to shut down security and take control of it. It had been easy enough finding the control room using the blueprints, it had only been ten minutes or so from the TARDIS. The nuns/nurses were swiftly dealt with by her and Jack, stunning them before they had a chance to react. Amy and Gwen were outside keeping watch, Gwen in constant contact with Owen back at the TARDIS.

Tosh frowned in annoyance as Jack hovered around her, reading over her shoulder, bothering her more than helping. "I am this close to un-friending you on facebook," she finally snapped, glaring at him. "Move over and let me do my job."

"...un-friend him on facebook?" Rory asked, laughter in his voice as Jack backed off, suddenly very busy with his vortex manipulator.

"Shut up," Tosh muttered, blushing, quickly typing on her laptop.

-'-'-

The Doctor squinted against a harsh light. "Welcome Doctor," a female voice said pleasantly. "I'm nurse Hilly."

"Hello. Mind turning down the light a little?"

"Not quite yet." He heard Hilly – his incredibly wild guess was 'Hilly the cat nurse' – take a few steps back. "He's awake. Shall we proceed?"

"With what?" the Doctor asked, trying to move, unable to as much as wiggle his toes.

"Doctor?" a familiar voice asked from somewhere.

"Ianto?"

"Yup."

"I'm here to rescue you!"

"... how's that going?" came the sarcastic answer.

"Eh- this is just a slight bump in the road," the Doctor assured him. He quickly tried to come up with a brilliant plan. It would have been much easier if he wasn't tied up. Hm, let's see. What do I know? I have backup that will come looking for me sooner rather than later as they haven't heard from me in awhile. Hey, maybe it's a good idea not to rush into things! Using communication devises and stuff. Nah, sounds boring. Right, what else? Peetha said- he said they were turning Ianto into a Time Lord. It almost felt like a punch in the guts. Which is impossible. Which is why he's dying. Why do they need me? And why did they choke the Rory?

"So," the Doctor said. "I have some questions. What did you do to Rory? And I demand you stop that at once, by the way. Why do you need me? And why in the name of sanity are you trying to create a Time Lord?"

"What he said," Ianto spoke up. "I've tried to get some questions answered-"

"Those were not for you to know," another voice interrupted. "We created a minor link with the other human to keep an eye on you. We needed a sample of your DNA to see if it would indeed be compatible with out subject's."

"Which you got when I mouth to mouthed him. And it was compatible," the Doctor guessed. "Ouch!" he exclaimed when the nurse stuck a needle in his arm.

"Indeed," the cat said. "The link is broken now, not that it matters."

"Why a Time Lord?

"It's for the greater cause, you're practically extinct. It's only you left Doctor, we had to at least try." She started sticking electrodes on his forehead and chest.

"So find a willing subject! And stop that!"

"No. We needed a perfect match. Someone from Cardiff, growing up soaking in the Rift-energy. Not only that, but someone who actively worked with it, getting even more exposure than most. Then it was Jack's connection to you, which meant he'd ask you for your help."

"You could have picked Gwen."

"We considered it, but then we saw the ship and so it was settled."

"...you didn't send Ianto there?"

"No."

"Oh." The Doctor wanted to ask more questions, because stalling is just as good as bananas, but wasn't given a chance as the cat stepped back.

"Proceed."

The light shone impossibly brighter, the electrodes seemed to pulse ice cold and hot all at once. He heard screaming, at first thinking it came out of his own mouth. He wasn't in any particular pain though, it was just... unpleasant.

-'-'-

"I've managed to hack into to surveillance," Tosh announced. The unfamiliar tech was a bit confusing, the surveillance being easer to understand than security so they'd switched, and right now she was thankful for that. "Let's see," she muttered, pressing enter, getting several pictures all at once.

"Well, something's definitely going on there," Jack said, pointing at one in the middle where they couldn't really see anything. There was a strong light on, obscuring everything else.

"You're standing outside the door," Rory pointed at the next picture where Peetha paced, looking anxious.

"I knew I couldn't be trusted," Jack muttered, frowning as he reached for the blueprints. "Let's see if we can find it on here," he added, nudging Tosh to make room for him. He quickly managed to find a map, comparing it to the blueprints. To his relief it didn't seem very far from here if they took a shortcut. "You done soon?" he asked River.

"One minute."

"Let me see if I can get some sound," Tosh said, nudging Jack out of the way.

-'-'-

Suddenly the light turned dark and the sensations stopped. He heard Ianto pant, whimpering.

"A historical event took place today," the second nurse said. "We've successfully created a Time Lord."

-'-'-

"Oh my god," Rory whispered. Jack stared, sure he'd heard wrong. He looked up and met River's wide eyes.

"I'm done," she said. "Let's run."


	8. Hope is a Terrible Thing

Chapter seven – Hope is a Terrible Thing

_Run run run. _Tosh kept repeating the word in her head. _Faster. Run run run run._ All of them were panting for breath, stunning ridiculously dressed cat-nuns left and right. She knew the Doctor was there, but he was tied up just like Ianto and couldn't help him.

Ianto the Time Lord. _Oh my god._

A thought struck her, making her stumble a few steps. _Jack won't have to be alone. _She glanced at their leader. _Ianto would never leave him._ Somehow her steps were lighter after that, but no less urgent.

-'-'-

Ianto was gasping for breath, the Doctor instantly recognizing the signs of a panic attack. He felt a bit like having one himself, because Crikey Charley there was another Time Lord in the room! He could _feel_ it. A sense of... kinship. But not quite. He frowned. Ianto was a Time Lord _almost_. Something, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, was missing. Suddenly the electricity turned itself off (or more likely got turned off by the Doctors brilliant team) and the bonds holding him down opened themselves up. The Doctor instantly sat up and rushed over to Ianto as he pulled out his trusty screwdriver. He ran a quick, maddeningly unhelpful scan, before helping him to sit up before the backup power came on.

Ianto looked awful, leaning most of his weight on the Doctor.

"Stop right there," not-nurse-Hilly said.

"No can do." The Doctor looked around, hastily coming up with a plan. He soniced some equipment hanging from the ceiling making it make wonderful sparkly sparks fly everywhere. While the cats were distracted he dragged Ianto across the room, sonicing the door before dramatically kicking it open. He quickly locked it behind them, using his sonic to make it Very Difficult to open.

"Watch out, sir," Ianto cautioned, pointing at the earpiece he'd almost stepped on. The Doctor refrained from objecting to the title as Ianto seemed quite out of it. Instead, he picked up his lost earpiece, shoving it in his pocket. Peetha must have left it there.

As he could hear the sound of fighting to his left, he and a staggering Ianto went to the right. He decided to, for once in his life, wait in the sidelines until the action had died down _then_ go straight back to the TARDIS. They stumbled down a few corridors and around a couple of corners before the Doctor found an empty room to hide in. Putting the earpiece in, he looked worriedly at Ianto as the other man let himself slide to the floor, back against the wall. "Hello, anyone! Testing testing. Red fez here. Do you copy?"

"Sweetie." River sounded a bit out of breath. "We're a bit busy. You okay?"

"Yes. Can you track this ear-thingy?"

"No problem," Tosh answered.

"How's Ianto?" Jack asked, cursing silently at something.

"Alive. Gotta go." He took it out again, not wanting any distractions. "How do you feel?" he asked, kneeling in front of Ianto.

"Peachy." Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Not sick enough for sarcasm," the Doctor remarked.

"I'm different. Something is not... settled. I feel... wrong." He shivered. "Incomplete."

"No, no you're not," the Doctor insisted. "There's something different about you, but-"

"You feel it too." Ianto closed his eyes with a sigh, shivering once more. "They needed alive Time Lord DNA to make this work," Ianto told him. "Does this make you my dad?" He gave a weak grin, nudging him.

"Uncle. Definitely uncle. Or your cousin. Twice removed." The Doctor smiled back, taking his pulse, petting his hair. A jolt went through the young man.

"Oh." He shivered violently. "I- I think they failed," he got out.

"No. No they didn't." The Doctor pulled him into his arms in a vain attempt to offer warmth. "I can sense the difference," the Doctor insisted, frantically trying to convince the young man. "You _are_ a Time Lord." Ianto didn't answer, just clutched his head. "Ianto, Ianto focus on my voice." The Doctor dragged his upper body into his lap. "Ianto. Listen to me, you're going to be okay. Your- your body is just adapting to the change," he lied, trying to sound convincing. "Don't give up. You'll be fine."

"I- shit it hurts." Ianto curled in on himself. "I can't-"

"Yes_you can_," the Doctor insisted, aware of the rest of team TARDIS (catchy if he did say so himself) jogging into the room, stopping short a few steps away. "Just get through this and you'll be fine. I've got you. I'll look after you." He gently rocked back and forth, holding the other man tightly. The other Time Lord. He got a flashback to a moment similar to this, when he'd been holding the Master in his arms. Begging. Unable to stand the loneliness of being the last of his kind.

And now he'd gotten another chance.

"I can't see," Ianto whispered. "I-" He shook his head. "It's like-" He shuddered, eyes unfocused. The Doctor could taste his own panic, feeling utterly helpless. "I won't die," Ianto whispered. "I bloody well didn't live through all this shit to die now."

"That's the spirit." The Doctor forced a smile.

_Don't leave me. I don't want to be the last one. Please _please_be strong enough._

"What's going on?" Peetha choose that moment to run through the door, blood running down the side of his face.

"You'll know when you're older," Jack sassed.

-'-'-

Tosh heard Ianto mumble something to the Doctor who laughed softly. They'd shooed Peetha out together with Rory and River to watch the exit. Ianto remained lying on the floor, the Doctor refusing to let him go, refusing to move him, talking softly to him.

"I'm cold." Ianto sounded childlike, small and scared.

"You're a Time Lord, we have lower body temperatures," the Doctor assured him. He looked old, Tosh thought. Weary.

"'s not that." Ianto shook his head. Tosh hugged herself, wanting to go over, but Jack had already been shooed away once. She glanced over. Jack was holding Gwen's hand, Gwen rubbing his shoulders. His eyes never left the scene in front of them, his throat kept working like he wanted to speak.

They should get going, only they were afraid to move Ianto who seemed weaker by the second.

And then there was the matter of Peetha, Tosh had no idea what they were going to do about him. Something told her Jack would refuse to give himself retcon, then again, he'd said he was missing memories...

"Ianto, focus on me." The Doctor kept talking, treating Ianto like a long lost friend. It felt weird, but she supposed she'd latch onto the last human if it had been the other way around. No matter how the person had come to be that way.

"I see things." Ianto smiled. "I know-" He paused, a brilliant smile lighting up his face. "Gallifrey, it's beautiful."

"My memories." The Doctor looked tired. "Those are all that's left. Some of them must have been transferred."

"Mmm." Ianto shivered, body relaxing. It made Tosh uneasy.

"What is that?" Gwen whispered. A soft, golden light was surrounding Ianto's hands.

"He's regenerating," Jack said, relief evident. Tosh recalled the, rather bizarre in her opinion, fact about Time Lords Jack had told them once. She hadn't been sure wether he'd been lying or not. Well, obviously not.

"What-" Ianto began, staring at his hand, holding it up in front of his face.

"Just give in to it," the Doctor urged. Ianto shook his head no. "It's natural for our kind. You'll be healed." The Doctor looked so hopeful, all intense focus on Ianto.

"N-no." Ianto started shaking. "I won't be me."

"You will be. Just a little different. Not much. Hey, might turn out ginger! Wouldn't that be brill?" The Doctor forced a false-looking smile. "Regenerate. _Please_." His voice became hoarse at the end.

"I- I don't know how- I'll try-" Ianto's shaking got worse, the light flickering around his hands until it went out and he stilled. Tosh's stomach did a painful lurch.

"Ianto?" Jack's voice sounded broken as he stumbled over.

"Nonono," the Doctor whispered. "Come on. _Please_." He was crying, Tosh realized.

"No pulse," Jack said dully and Tosh suddenly felt nauseous._No pulse._

"Shit." Amy breathed the word, eyes fixed firmly on the sobbing Doctor.

-'-'-

No-one questioned it when Jack lifted Ianto bridal style. He wondered how he looked to them. Gutted? Devastated? He felt worse. Peetha – and he had to think of him like that, distance himself – startled as Jack walked past him.

"He was supposed to live. They said he'd live if I brought the Doctor."

"Obviously not," Jack told his younger self cruelly, jerking away when Peetha reached for the man in his arms. He could hear Tosh silently updating Owen on the situation, words coming out chipped and controlled. He shut it out.

Ianto was gone.

Dead.

He tried to focus on the now, keeping the rest of his team safe, but his mind unhelpfully supplied him with images of a happy, smiling Ianto. And, which was worse, memories of when Jack had hurt him. He gritted his teeth together, scanning his surroundings. Gwen briefly pressed her hand against his back, and it was good to know she was there. They would be there for each other. All of them, sharing the grief of a lost family member. Jack clung to that.

They almost got all the way to the TARDIS before four of the fucking cats caught up with them.

"I'm abbess Norwich, I'll have to ask you to leave the Time Lord with us," one said, gesturing towards Ianto. Like she had any right to even _look_ at him.

Jack wanted to rip her throat out. With his teeth.

"He's dead," the Doctor said dully. Jack had never seen him so... defeated. Not even after the Master had died.

_Hope is a terrible thing._

"Impossible," another nurse denied, possibly frowning, it was hard to tell.

"Obviously not," Jack sneered.

"Leave the body then, and we'll let you leave without making a fuss," the Abbess said, hands folded in front of her. "We'd have preferred him alive, but we can still use his DNA."

"So you can kidnap someone else?" Gwen snapped.

"We'll only use volunteers," the Abbess promised.

"I don't trust someone who'd run a hospital without a shop." The Doctor glared at the nuns. Jack suddenly understood why he was sometimes referred to as the oncoming storm. He took an involuntary step back.

"Without a-" The abbess frowned in confusion, then changed tracks. "Ah, yes. Your reputation proceeds you, Doctor. We know the devastation you caused our order in New New York-"

"You said you'd let him go," Peetha snarled.

"We would have liked to, but he's far too rare-" She didn't have time to say more before she got shot in the head. Jack blinked, staring at his younger self as he ruthlessly executed the other three cats before they had time to even react.

"TARDIS. Now." Everyone rushed after the Doctor, Jack hitching up his heavy burden. "Not you. Paradox. Sexy doesn't like paradoxes." He glared at Peetha like he'd created the paradox on purpose.

"He calls the TARDIS sexy?" Gwen muttered.

"Unfortunately," Amy mumbled back.

Jack's heart started beating painfully fast. "You know what has to happen now, Doctor," he said, forcing the words out as he walked past him into the TARDIS. His past self was about to loose two years of his life, while Jack had lost something so much more important. Arms giving out he kneeled down with his burden, gently laying him down on the floor, touching his cheek like it might wake him. It was cool, not cold yet. He bit his bottom lip, wanting to scream, and curse and wail because it_just wasn't fair_. He always lost them. But Ianto- Ianto was young, and strong and they were supposed to have years and years.

He hadn't treated him fairly, had he? Hadn't let him in. Except maybe he had. He must have or else he wouldn't feel like his heart was trying to crawl out of his throat, leaving him almost gagging.

"Jack." Gwen squeezed his shoulder as Owen ran up to them muttering "dammit," under his breath. He took Ianto's pulse, probably out of habit than anything else, then stepped back, face crumbling for a moment before he regained control over himself. Tosh grabbed his arm and Owen drew her into a hug.

"It's done. I used his vortex manipulator to send him back to the Academy," the Doctor told them, voice flat, as he closed the door behind him.

"That's where I woke up," Jack confirmed, playing with Ianto's hair, unwilling and unable to just leave him. He arranged his body, arms to the side, legs together, all very carefully.

"I'll take us back," River said, kissing the Doctor's cheek before petting it gently. She jogged up to the controls followed by her parents.

"We- um." Owen cleared his throat. "We should move him," he said softly as a small shiver went through the TARDIS.

"Just a moment." It bothered Jack to see Ianto all dressed in white. Ianto was usually so colourful and devastatingly handsome in his dark suits. The though brought a small smile to his lips which turned into another wave of grief, pushing him down as he realized he'd have to pick a suit for him to be buried in. He let out a harsh breath.

"Leave him," the Doctor said softly, kneeling next to Jack, gently closing Ianto's eyes, something Jack hadn't been able to do. It felt too final. "Right. Back to Cardiff, then." The Doctor's eyes lingered for another moment before he got up, Jack following him, suddenly unable to look at the man who would never look back at him again.

"We've entered the time vortex. It shouldn't take too long to get back," River informed them. Amy put an arm around the Doctor, steering him over to a chair, Rory appearing from somewhere handing him a cup of something steaming. It was heartwarming really, the way they doted on him.

Tosh had sat down next to Ianto, just staring at him, like she could will him awake and alive. Jack walked over to the control panel, running his hands over the unfamiliar-yet-not buttons and leavers.

The Doctor was sipping his tea, Amy sitting quietly next to him, nudging him from time to time, Rory on his other side, not really doing anything, just silently being there. River would send him a smile from time to time, getting a tired nod in return.

Tosh had stopped staring at Ianto, eyes instead glued to a pacing Owen. Gwen had curled up, back to a wall and arms around herself, staring at nothing as silent tears ran down her cheeks.

"Here." River handed him a tissue. Jack touched his face and realized he was crying too.

"Thanks," he said, voice rough.

"Jack!" Tosh's call made all of them jerk to attention. A small cloud of golden dust rose out of Ianto's mouth, dissipating in a moment. He sat up, blinking.

"It really is bigger on the inside, isn't it? Whoah!" Gwen and Tosh jumped him, hugging and laughing.

"Oh my god," Gwen squealed. "Oh you little shit!"

"Harassment!" Ianto said, half-choked. Jack walked over slowly, as if walking too fast might make it all undone.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was across the room in a flash of flailing limbs. "How do you feel?" he asked, scanning him with his screwdriver, helping him to his feet.

"Whole." Ianto smiled, happy and bright and just so. Fucking. Perfect. "My tooth grew back." He frowned, mouth twisting as he felt it with his tongue. "I had that one pulled out years ago."

"The perks of regeneration. Or, partial regeneration?" River made it into a question.

"Something like that." The Doctor tapped the screwdriver against his lips. "The last stage of him going from human to Time Lord, his body 'repairing' itself by partial regeneration. _Not an actual_ regeneration as he was still partially human and humans can't regenerate. But the Time Lord part was more dominant and took over, replacing human DNA with Time Lord as being part human was killing him. Sort of. Not really. A bit like that. Kind of. Anyway! You're not dead!" He beamed, throwing his arms out.

"Not that I know of?" Ianto looked a bit hesitant. Jack pressed his fist against his mouth, feeling lightheaded. _Time Lords live a very long time_, a voice whispered. _Maybe not forever, but you won't loose him for centuries._

"Nah, I'm the only dead man in here," Owen snarked, pulling a startled Ianto into a manly back-slapping hug.

"It was close though, we though we'd lost you." Gwen's eyes teared up again.

"It's a bit fuzzy," Ianto admitted, rubbing his head.

"Are you in pain?" The Doctor held his head between his hands, closing his eyes.

"A bit. It all feels a bit jumbled. I can't really focus. Or-" he frowned. "Not really shut anything out."

"You'll learn," the Doctor assured him, stepping back. Ianto frowned again, shaking his head, as if shaking off a fly. He looked around until his eyes fell on Jack, not giving him the usual look Jack had privately dubbed 'the Ianto-look', a mix between exasperation and adoration. Instead he frowned, looking pained.

"What's wrong with him?" he choked out, continuing to stare, going from pained to horrified, both hands clutching his head.

It felt a bit like being gutted.

"He's a fixed point." The Doctor looked sympathetic. So, so sorry.

"He's..." Ianto's chest heaved as he backed away, eyes flickering everywhere except Jack. "Wrong."

Utter silence reigned. Jack felt empty, the earlier feelings of hope and joy dissipating like they had never existed.

"Yeah, I am." He swallowed. He'd forgotten. He'd somehow forgotten about the Doctor's first reaction to him.

"_That's why I left you behind. It's not easy, even just- just looking at you, Jack. 'cause you're wrong. You are, I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord, it's instinct. It's in my guts."_

"I'm sorry- I can't-" Jack could see what an effort it was for Ianto to look at him, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Jack." The short word was pained.

"Concentrate on me." The Doctor grabbed Ianto, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Focus."

"It's like spiders under my skin." There were tears in Ianto's voice as he clutched the Doctor's shoulders, blue eyes wide with fright and chock.

"River! Land us. _Now!_"

-'-'-

The Doctor had thrown all of them out, even River. Jack didn't recognize the planet with the purple sky and the yellow grass, didn't care. He ignored the others pitying looks, laying down in the grass, staring unseeingly at the green clouds.

_Hope is a terrible thing._

The universe was a bitch and she hated him. She made his lover immortal, then made him unable to stand the sight of him. Making him cringe at his mere presence. "Fucking irony."

Jack laughed. And laughed and laughed.

-'-'-

River estimated they'd been on the planet for maybe an hour when her sweetie returned.

Before anyone could ask, the Doctor spoke. "I took him to a friend that knows about time. He'll learn how to control his new senses. Get accustomed to being a Time Lord." His voice hitched as he said Time Lord, like he couldn't help himself. Like he was so happy he couldn't contain it. River had to smile at that. She busied herself by helping him set the coordinates for Cardiff, most likely they'd land approximately one hour after they'd left.

"You'll take him with you?" Jack asked, face a neutral mask. The laugh earlier had been horrible. Had their positions reversed, River didn't know what she'd had done. To have the Doctor look at her that way...

Jack was so different from the man that had teased the Doctor by flirting with her only hours before, his sorrow and bitterness hanging around him like a cloak.

"I'd... like that. If he wants. Not now, he's too overwhelmed." The Doctor smiled shyly as he continued. "He said he'd come, in a few years."

"I'm glad for your sake." Jack's voice was as empty as his expression. Gwen looked like she might reach for him, Owen's hand on her arm holding her back.

"Jack-" The Doctor looked pained.

"I am. Really. Being the only one- It's just hell, isn't it?" The smile was ugly and self-deprecating.

"He might grow out of it. Or learn to block it-" the Doctor insisted as River soundlessly landed in the middle of the _Roald Dahl Plass_.

"Yeah." Jack didn't sound convinced, turning his back on them as he walked over to the door.

"_Jack_. Maybe, I don't know, you'll become less fixed?" The Doctor seemed to be grasping at straws now.

"Doctor." Jack turned towards him. "Leave it." He opened the door, quick strides making him soon disappear out of sight.

"Take care of him." Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. "Or God help you."

"_That's_ the _Torchwood_ I know and avoid," the Doctor joked half-heartedly. "And I will. Take care of him. You have my word."

"Good."

They said their farewells, then watched as team-_Torchwood _walked close together towards their headquarters.

"She's pregnant, you know," the Doctor said. "Gwen, that is. That's why Ianto'll travel back to create the paradox, making sure they'll pick him."

"How come you didn't notice he was a Time Lord?" River asked, intrigued.

"I helped him with the disguise. Or I will. In the future. So I'm told on good authority." He sighed tiredly, then grinned. "Two Time Lords, eh? The Universe won't know what hit it." He bounded over to the controls. "Anwen, such a nice name, really," he mumbled to himself. River smiled fondly.

"We're going to see him?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Silly question, Pond! Of course we are!"

-'-'-

Stepping out of the TARDIS Amy's mouth fell open in surprise. "You?" It came out sounding like a question.

"I guess that makes sense," Rory said thoughtfully. "If anyone knows about time..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"Ready to go?" the Doctor beamed, practically bouncing.

"No, I always carry a big bag around," Ianto snarked, rolling his eyes as he stepped into the TARDIS.


	9. Cardiff 21th century

**AN: For those of you who want an extra chapter, check out DorianWilde at archive of out own! **

Jack was finally in bed, a bit woozy from the painkillers. It had been a busy night. The weevils were running amok, one having decided Jack looked like a delicious snack. Again. On top of it all, a group of hobbit-like dark haired aliens had come through the rift. They'd spoken with an Italian accent, all of them wearing bright red or green clothes with matching caps on their heads. When they'd informed the team they were plumbers from the Ni'n teen-do system, Owen would probably have died laughing if he hadn't been dead already.

It was 4am, and as he hadn't slept the night before he'd been ready to drop. After haphazardly shedding his clothes, he'd sunk into his bed with a contented sigh, asleep within minutes. Now he sluggishly came back to awareness by the bed dipping.

"Mh?" he shook his head, trying to make his brain and body cooperate as his covers were pulled back.

"Go back to sleep," a soft voice ordered, cuddling up next to him. Jack blinked, suddenly wide awake. Everyone had left hours ago and except for Torchwood employees no-one could get inside the hub, except-

"Ianto?" he asked, because surely it couldn't be. He quickly turned the light on, staring at his new bedfellow. Curly brown hair surrounded unfamiliar, hispanic gorgeous features. A lean, rather muscled arm was slung over Jack's waist, skin looking naturally bronzed.

"Mmm?" The man opened his eyes, making Jack startle as the familiar blue orbs looked up at him. Ianto sounded half-asleep already, frowning at the light. "Ja-ack," he complained, burying his face in the pillow. Jack put his hand against his chest, sliding it from the left to the right side, feeling both hearts beat.

"It really is you," Jack said, something like wonder in his tone. He gently touched his face, trying to make his brain understand that Ianto was here. He'd come back. He wasn't looking at Jack like he was- like Jack's very existence disgusted him. Quite the opposite.

"Oh, right. New face," Ianto said sheepishly, dragging himself up in a sitting position, making a small 'ta da!' gesture. As if on cue he breathed out a small cloud of golden dust. He must havejust regenerated. Jack wondered if that meant the Doctor was poking around the Hub. Probably. Oh dear. "You like it?" Ianto smiled at him and Jack's heart took a funny little leap.

"Yeah. Liked your other one too, though."

Ianto smiled, then yawned, closing his eyes again. "The lights, sweetheart," he admonished, nudging him with his foot as he laid back down.

Sweetheart?

"Oh, right." Jack turned it back off again, smiling as the Time Lord contentedly snuggled into his chest, arm back around his waist. "I've missed you," Jack said quietly, carding his fingers through Ianto's longish hair. He wrapped both arms around him, tightening his grip, wanting to hold on to him, make him stay. Ianto sighed, pressing a kiss against his chest.

"'m tired," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Jack answered, for once unsure what to do, what to say. "Sorry."

"How long've been gone?" Ianto asked, voice a bit slurred.

"Three years." I've thought so much about you hoping you'd come back because not even fate can be that fucking cruel-

"Oh yeah? Huh."

Jack felt Ianto's breath against his chest, his heartbeats against his side. Stay. Please stay. A thought struck him. "How long has it been for you?"

"'bout three centuries," Ianto yawned.

"Oh." Jack was surprised. He shouldn't be, but he was. And, Ianto was older than him. Wow. He... should have seen that one coming. "How's it been?" Did you miss me? Did you ever think of me? Did you ever want to come home to me?

"Wonderful."

"I bet." Jack tried to wrap his mind around it: Ianto was centuries old now. He'd lived lifetimes without Jack, growing, changing. But he'd come back, if only for perhaps one night. Jack was happy for him. He'd always wanted to show Ianto the stars, knowing he'd love it. "What have you been up to then?" he asked, because really, he was curious.

The answer made his chest tight, his breath hitch and the silliest smile appear on his lips.

"Spoilers."


End file.
